Franklin Annual Report 2014: Health Department

Continuing our read through the Annual Report we turn to the Health Department.

Mission Statement

The Franklin Health Department is charged with protecting the public health and well being of the
community, in accordance with federal, state and local public health laws and regulations. To fulfill this responsibility, the Franklin Health Department enforces a multitude of public health laws and
regulations, and administers a comprehensive inspection program.

Inspections

The following list identifies the primary components of the department’s inspection program, and the total number of inspections and re-inspections conducted for each component.

* Food Service/Retail Food/Inspections/ Complaint Investigations ................................. 365
* Title V Septic System Plan Review and Installation/Repair, Total Applications .............. 56
35 New, 21 Repairs, 17 Minor Repairs and Approximately 180 Field Inspections Conducted.
* Chapter II Housing Code Inspection/ Re-inspections  ..................................................... 33
* Public Health Nuisance/Odor/Noise/Animal Complaint Investigation .......................... 72
* Semi-Public Pool/Spa Testing/Inspection and Public Beach Testing .............................. 33
* Inspection and Licensing of Children’s Recreational Camps ............................................ 11
* Tanning Salon Inspection ................................................................................................... 4
* Manicure/Pedicure Establishment  ................................................................................... 8

Communicable Disease 

As mandated by the State Department of Public Health, local health departments must report, investigate and track all communicable disease occurrences in their jurisdictions. The Franklin Health
Department has had a long-term contract with the former VNA and Hospice of Greater Milford, now call Salmon Health Care, to assist with the investigation and follow up of reportable communicable diseases that occur in the community.

The following list depicts the reportable illness activity for fiscal year 2013-2014 in number of official cases:

Malaria ............................................................................ 0
Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis ............................... 0
Calicvirus/Norovirus ...................................................... 1
Babesiosis ....................................................................... 0
Campylobacter ................................................................ 6
Hepatitis A ...................................................................... 1
Hepatitis B ...................................................................... 0
Hepatitis C ...................................................................... 9
Lyme Disease ............................................................... 13
Meningitis ....................................................................... 2
Streptococcus, Group A/B .............................................. 4
E. Coli ............................................................................. 0
Ehrlichiosis ..................................................................... 0
Giardiasis ........................................................................ 1
Salmonella Enteritis ........................................................ 2
Bacterial Infection, Avium, Vibrio ................................. 1
Encephalitis .................................................................... 0
Cryptosporidiosis ............................................................ 1
Legionellosis ................................................................... 1
Pulmonary TB ................................................................. 0
Chicken Pox .................................................................... 0
Pertussis .......................................................................... 1
Influenza ....................................................................... 40
Dog Bites ...................................................................... 17
Cat Bites ......................................................................... 4
Shigellosis ....................................................................... 0
TB related ....................................................................... 0
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ............................................. 2
Yersinia ........................................................................... 1
Vibrio sp ......................................................................... 1
Dengue Fever .................................................................. 0

Flu Clinics

In fiscal year 2013-2014, the VNA/Salmon Health Care held one seasonal flu clinic immunizing 82
residents. In addition, the VNA/Salmon Health Care provided TB screening/ testing and case follow-up for a number of residents.

Licenses and Permits

The following is a comprehensive list of all permits/licenses issued by the Franklin Health Department during fiscal year 2013-2014. Most licensed/permitted activities require at least annual
inspections as part of the permitting process.

Beaver Permits ................................................................ 9
Burial Permits ............................................................... 87
Bakery ............................................................................. 4
Bottling ........................................................................... 1
Catering .......................................................................... 2
Cleaners/Laundromats .................................................... 1
Recreational Camps ........................................................ 8
Demolition ...................................................................... 0
Septic Installers............................................................. 50
Disposal of Offal .......................................................... 37
Food Establishment .................................................... 109
Funeral Directors ............................................................ 3
Infectious Waste ............................................................. 1
Keeping of Animals ...................................................... 14
Frozen Desserts/Ice Cream ............................................. 8
Milk and Cream ............................................................ 23
Milk and Cream Vehicles ............................................... 4
Mobile Food ................................................................... 3
Pasteurization ................................................................. 1
Private Wells (potable .................................................... 3
Irrigation Wells ............................................................... 9
Recycling ........................................................................ 1
Retail Food ................................................................... 30
Stables ........................................................................... 20
Manicure Establishment ............................................... 17
Tanning Establishment ................................................... 4
Temporary Food ........................................................... 15
Trench Permits .............................................................. 39
Semi-Public Pools/Spas ............................................... 26
Tobacco/Nicotine Delivery Products ............................ 29

The Franklin Board of Health and the Health Department worked diligently to draft and implement
several new public health regulations during the last fiscal year. In April of 2014, a comprehensive
Tobacco and Nicotine Delivery Products regulation was enacted. In addition a new regulation governing the installation of septic systems was also passed by the Board of Health.

Staff

The current Health Department staff is as follows:
David E. McKearney, R.S. Public Health Director
Virginia M. McNeil, Health Agent,
Elizabeth Hoey, Health Inspector, (14) hours and
Mary Ellen Ficco, Administrative Assistant, (16) hours.

The Franklin Health Department wishes to thank all department heads and staff for their continuing
assistance and support of the Health Department throughout the year.

Board of Health

The three-member elected Board of Health is the policy making arm for the Health Department. The
board members assist in the drafting of public health bylaws, and review all site plans for compliance with local and state public health regulations. The board presides over administrative hearings in all matters concerning Health Department licensed and permitted activities. Board members are  available for consultation on issues relative to the public health as well.

Bruce Hunchard, Board of Health Chairman
Donald Ranieri, Jr. Vice Chairman
Philip Brunelli, Board Clerk.

Hours of Operation

The Franklin Health Department office is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8:00AM to
4:00PM, Wednesday from 8:00AM to 6:00PM and Friday from 8:00AM to 1:00PM

Health Department personnel are available to meet with customers from 8-9:15AM and again from 3:15-4PM each day, or other hours by appointment as necessary.

Respectfully submitted,
David E. McKearney, R.S.
Public Health Director
Franklin Health Department

Screen grab of Franklin Health Department page

For additional information on the Health Dept you can visit their page on the official Franklin website  http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Health/index


------

The full annual report can be obtained from the Town Clerk's office (hard copy) or viewed and/or downloaded from the Franklin website here
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Clerk/annual/2014report.pdf

Annual reports of prior years can also be found online at
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Clerk/annual/

Bottle/Can Drive - Saturday - Jan 3

Got a few bottles and cans from your holiday parties? 

Help the FHS Cheerleaders by bringing the bottles and cans to the FHS parking lot Saturday morning January 3 between 8:00 AM and noon.

FHS bottle/can drive

2014 from the Climate Hawk’s Perspective – The Climate Minute Podcast

New post on Mass Climate Action Network (MCAN) 2014 from the Climate Hawk's Perspective – The Climate Minute Podcast by massclimateaction The year 2014 was hot, the climate movement became conscious of itself and saw new dimensions in a big world. This year is likely to be the hottest year on record and one where climate change undeniably arrived in clear force. The year will also be remembered as one where climate activism took center stage with lots of rabble-rousing. The President said "Our citizens keep marching. We cannot pretend we do not hear them." From EPA regulations to the Climate March, Climate Hawks were out in force. The KXL pipeline is in deep Presidential trouble because of activism. In NY, fracking was banned, and the polls approve. On top of all that, Kinder Morgan blinked in the face of local opposition. The climate movement's conception of itself changed in 2014 as well, not the least due to Naomi Klein's book "This Changes Everything". Rebecca Solnit is getting lots of mileage out of a comparison of our times to the French Revolution. She says: "…physics is inevitable…Politics, on the other hand, is not inevitable." In the same way, the #BlackLivesMatter movement is a big one for Climate Hawks. From a convergence of interests, to environmental justice to a simple realization that cities are a locus of climate opportunity, a new way of thinking was born. The year also saw hopeful signs of an independent media as well as price parity for renewables, and a great window of opportunity for a carbon tax. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre massclimateaction | December 31, 2014 at 10:32 am | Tags: 350.org, blacklivesmatter, Carbon Taxes, citizen's climate lobby, Climate Change, cop20, COP21, global warming, KXL, Naomi Klein, thischangeseverything | Categories: Climate Action | URL: http://wp.me/p14L3C-12a Comment    See all comments    Like Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://massclimateaction.wordpress.com/2014/12/31/2014-from-the-climate-hawks-perspective-the-climate-minute-podcast/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

You can listent to The Climate Minute podcast here:

Franklin Library: Science Friday - Jan 9th

Space is limited and registration is required for the Science Friday event scheduled for Jan 9th. This targeted for students in the 1st through 4th grades.  

Register here

http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ea8hoafg219c5f31&llr=npijo9cab

science Friday  - "world of engineering"

This was shared from the Franklin Public Library page
http://franklinpl.blogspot.com/2014/12/science-friday.html

In the News: HMMS goes to Future City

Middle-schoolers from Framingham, Natick and Franklin are among the New England regional finalists in the 22nd annual Future City Competition. 

Teams from The Learning Center for the Deaf-Walden School in Framingham, Natick Public School and the Horace Mann Middle School in Franklin are headed to the regional competition, scheduled for Jan. 24 at Northeastern University in Boston. 

The Future City Competition challenges kids to develop solutions to problems currently facing society. This year's challenge, titled Feeding Future Cities, had students exploring urban agriculture, from aeroponic systems for rooftop farms to recycled gray water to the farm-to-table movement. Led by an educator and adult volunteer, students designed a futuristic urban farm capable of growing enough of one vegetable crop and one protein crop to feed the citizens of their communities.

Continue reading the article at the Milford Daily News: http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20141231/NEWS/141239363/1994/NEWS#sthash.qUPID4qq.dpuf

screen grab of Future City webpage

For more about the Future City Competition, you can follow this link http://futurecity.org/

Happy New Year!

Good bye 2014!  

In the middle of Fiscal Year 2015, we get to turn the calendar to January 1 and the new year - 2015.

May the new year bring goodness to all!

happy new year!

PS - -> If you really need to find something to read today, feel free to spend time in the archives. You can scroll through the Meeting Notes (live reporting on meetings going back to 2008) or pick a day (any day back to November 2007) then turn back the clock to find out what was posted on that day.

MBTA: Commuter Rail Schedule for New Year's Day

Please be advised that on Thursday, January 1, 2015, all trains on all lines will operate on a Sunday schedule. Affected routes: Newburyport/Rockport Line Haverhill Line Lowell Line Fitchburg/South Acton Line Framingham/Worcester Line Needham Line Franklin Line Fairmount Line Providence/Stoughton Line Middleborough/Lakeville Line Kingston/Plymouth Line Greenbush Line New Year's Eve Schedule info Last updated: Dec 31 2014 08:58 AM Click here for more information: http://www.mbta.com/events/ Sent by the MBTA.