Health and Human Services

The Department of Health and Human Services was the 1997 recipient of the gold merit award in the American Heart Association's "Community with Heart" category The Township received the award at the 1997 Delegate Assembly on October 17,1997. The department has placed in one of the top two slots every year since beginning the program in 1993. This program provides Township residents with various cardiovascular disease interventions such as blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, cardiac risk assessment and various other educational programs which are integrated throughout the community. Local organizations and Township residents are encouraged to get involved in "Town with Heart" programs. For information regarding the "Town with Heart" program, contact the program coordinator, at 837-4822.

The Code Enforcement Officer makes sure that business district sidewalks are kept free from litter and that private properties are maintained. Property maintenance surveys were started in the commercial areas of the Township. In the Cedar Lane business district, seventy-five property owners were cited for over one hundred violations. The surveys will continue in other commercial areas in 1998. The code enforcement officer also supervises the "Workfare" and "Teen Clean" program participants. Teaneck High School students from the FORUM program cleaned municipal parking lots on Saturday mornings April to June and September to November. During July and August, the students worked with the Public Works Department and painted over graffiti on public buildings, bridges and other Township property. The program will continue in 1998.

The Health Department continued the coordination of the Teaneck Municipal Alliance Against Substance Abuse. The Alliance is funded through grant monies received from the governors council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. The Alliance committee received $15,581.00 in 1997. The Township matched the amount with 25% cash and 75% in-kind services. The Alliance committee worked closely with the School system, D.A.R.E. program and END D.W.I. Key programs were Project Find and Funday Night Live. The Alliance Committee also provided funding for Project Graduation and for high school students to attend the Teen Institute of the Garden State (TIGS) summer program. Residents or organizations who would like to become involved in the Alliance should call the coordinator at 837-4822.

The contract with Holy Name Hospital for Public Health Nursing Services continues to be a major success. The Teaneck Child Health Conference is the only one in the county to provide evening hours to participants in an effort to accommodate working parents. The evening hours are the third Thursday of the month, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Day hours for the Conference are from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays. Visits to the Child Health Conference totaled 278. The clinic, which provides all aspects of well-child care, administered 370 childhood immunizations. Venous blood tests are performed on children participating in the clinic at one and two years of age. A total of 67 children were tested for lead poisoning. The clinic located at 725 Teaneck Road is available to Township children between the ages of six weeks and five years. Appointments, required for all services of the Child Health Conference, can be made by calling 833-0275.

The Community Health Services clinic which provides hypertension screenings and risk assessment is also located at 725 Teaneck Road. The clinic which includes an educational component, has recorded 826 visits in 1997, in which 23 referrals were made to private physicians. The clinic is offered twice a week and is the perfect solution for residents who must have their blood pressure checked on a regular basis. Public Health Nurses from the clinic also monitored blood pressures weekly at the Teaneck Senior Service Center in 1997. A total of 224 seniors participated. Evening hours are available one Monday a month, from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. To receive further information of clinic dates and times, contact the Health Department office at 837-4824.

As further service to seniors and those with chronic respiratory problems, the Department of Health and Human Services conducted flu shot clinics at the Fall Health Fair, Senior Service Center and Classic Residence. A total of 360 residents received flu shots and another 30 received the pneumonia shot.

The Senior Citizens Medical Outreach program is now in its fifth year. The facility is located within the Townhouse at the corner of Teaneck Road and W. Forest Avenue and operates under the direction of Bergen Pines County Hospital staff. The program offers primary care medical treatment in addition to podiatry care. Hours of operation are every Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For further information or appointments, call 967-4060.

In cooperation with Holy Name Hospital and the Teaneck Municipal Alliance Against Substance Abuse, the Department sponsored Project Find & Senior Health Symposium in November of 1997. Over 200 Seniors and others were provided with preventative and diagnostic screening services. Included were a completed blood/chemistry profile (including HDL & LDL cholesterol), vision, dental, low-cost mammography, and podiatry screenings , heart risk assessment, body fat analysis, flu and pneumonia shots and information regarding all areas of health. Additionally, a program on managing medications was presented by the Bergen County council on Alcoholism and Drug abuse. Aerobic exercise and Tai Chi demonstrations were also provided. The symposium is scheduled for October 1998. Watch the newspapers for the exact date.

The secretarial staff processed over 2,000 licenses for dog owners, retail food establishment operations, vending machines, dry cleaners and owners of rented homes and lodging houses. Revenues generated from these licenses and other miscellaneous fees totaled $66,885.40 Animal Control services are provided through a contract with the Bergen County Animal Shelter. The Shelter responded to 346 requests for service in 1997. The service provides rabies control, rescues sick and injured animals and captures stray dogs and cats. To request the services of the shelter, residents should call the Health Department weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Before and after these hours and on weekends and holidays, calls should be made to the Teaneck Police.

The department also issued 258 cat licenses in 1997. The licensing period for cats runs from April 1 to March 31 of the following year. Licenses can be renewed during April and May. As with dogs there is a $10 late fee after the renewal period is over. Free rabies immunization vouchers for participating veterinarians are available from the Health Department. Residents took advantage of this program in 1997, by having 352 dogs and 81 cats vaccinated.

Environmental Health and Property Maintenance Code enforcement are priorities with the Health Department. The restaurants and other food establishments come under the close scrutiny of the department inspectors on a regular basis. Food establishments received 256 satisfactory and 37 conditional inspections in 1997. The inspection placards are white for satisfactory and yellow for conditional inspections, and are required to be posted at or near the public entrance to the establishment. Inspectors investigated 68 complaints involving food establishments. Establishments in serious violation were issued 17 summonses which resulted in $1,280.00 in fines. Monthly samples potentially of hazardous foods were collected and analyzed for high bacterial levels.

Consistent property maintenance code enforcement keeps the Township environmentally sound and helps keep property values high. As the primary enforcers of the code, department inspectors conducted 2,906 inspections in 1997. Violation notices were written, follow-up inspections conducted and summonses issued where necessary. A three year comparison of code enforcement activities follows:

Tenants in multiple family dwellings, rented houses and lodging houses are served by the departments through Certificate of Health inspections. These inspections are required for vacant apartments, single family rented houses and rented rooms. Certificates of health were issued for 155 apartment units in 1997.

Radon test kits were sold to 25 residents in 1997. Test kits are still available at the Health Department office for $14.00 Over 475 residents have taken advantage of the program since inception in 1989.

The Social Service Coordinator directs the Township's programs designed to assist the unemployed, those with housing related crises, the homeless, and those who are emotionally and/or physically disabled. In 1997, the service disbursed $283,906 in State General Assistance funds. The coordinator services an average of 60 clients per month in the state funded program. The service continues to grapple with the problems of the homeless, the mentally ill and drug abuse. Currently, the service is providing housing to 7 homeless persons. The Bergen County Shelter in Hackensack, Inter-religious Fellowship, Bergen County Housing Authority and area motels all serve to house the homeless.

The township requires employable General Assistance clients to participate in the workfare program. In order to remain eligible for their grant, clients must work 20 hours per month for a number of Township Departments. A priority has been to remove litter from commercial area parking lots and sidewalks.

The Social Service Coordinator received private sector assistance from a number of sources in 1997; most notably the African-American Student Organization at Teaneck High School, American Legion Post #128, New Milford/Teaneck Chapter of the Elks, The Community Chest of Teaneck, Teaneck Women's Club, Hope Presbyterian Church, and local merchants and supermarkets.

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