Health Outreach

Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS)

The REHS protect the public’s health and safety by preventing and controlling environmental hazards. They are responsible for wide range of activities including:

• Investigating and resolving environmental health complaints

• Enforcing environmental health regulations

• Conducting inspections and licensing of food establishments and businesses

• Educating the public about environmental risks

• Developing and implementing environmental health programs

Health Department Grant Funding

This year, the City of Orange Township Health Department will utilize grant funding for the continued implementation of COVID-19 vaccines and testing and HIV testing, care, and treatment of residents of Orange.

Additionally, the City of Orange Township Health Department will utilize funding for the continued implementation of health education activities that provides outreach and messaging in existing resources. To ensure equitable access to public health resources across disproportionately affected populations, to develop testing surge capacity infrastructure for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, and to support isolation and quarantine needs to create equitable access for population’s access for populations who may be disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and other communicable diseases.

Health Educator

•Responsible for developing health education programs to address community health needs including drug and alcohol abuse control, smoking prevention and cessation, nutrition, injury control, physical fitness, exercise, and other preventive health activities.

•Provide program evaluation technical assistance to the local Health Officer to plan, organize, and measure programmatic outcomes.

•Provide guidance and consultation to community and faith-based organizations to develop and improve their health education activities.

•Identifies target populations and assesses health education needs based on information from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, prepares health education program plans.

Local Health Outreach Coordinator

The Local Health Outreach Coordinator will increase local public health capacity to investigate, contain, mitigate and prevent Covid-19/other infectious diseases through targeted outreach to disproportionately affected populations. The health outreach coordinator will work to ensure disproportionately affected persons in their communities have access to support services like housing, insurance coverage, and unemployment compensation to allow them to isolate or quarantine effectively. In addition the health outreach coordinator will assess disproportionately affected populations in the community and develop a strategic plan to test, contain, mitigate, and prevent Covid-19/other infectious disease in these populations. The health outreach coordinator works within the local health department leadership and governing body to oversee the implementation of the strategic plan to ensure timely testing and containment of Covid-19/other infectious diseases.

• Works with LHD staff and County LINCS agency, in alignment with State testing and containment strategies, to prioritize Covid-19/other infectious disease response initiatives targeted to disproportionately affected populations, including testing, vaccination access, and social support.

• Identify gaps in needs amongst Covid-19/other infectious disease positive and exposed persons, especially those in populations disproportionately affected, and search for local solutions. This could include mental health services, visiting nurses, telehealth solutions, and other community programs that can address the needs of Covid-19/other infectious disease positive and exposed persons.

• Develop and maintain a list of available resources to assist Covid-19/other infectious disease positive and exposed persons within the community and communicate this list and updates to the County LINCS agency.

Project First Line Link

Future Initiatives:

Special Needs for Emergency Preparedness

The Orange Health Department has implemented a new health initiative for the patients with special needs requiring immediate assistance in the event of an emergency. The patients information will be shared with the Orange Police Department, Orange Fire Department, and PSE&G for immediate assistance and priority in the event of an Emergency. The targeted population for this initiative includes persons on oxygen, hemodialysis patients, and or homebound. The goal of this initiative is to provide priority services and assistance to the targeted population in need.