| August 2024 |
| Here’s an overview of some of the things we’ve been working on at Public Health Madison & Dane County since our last newsletter. For the best reading experience, we recommend clicking the link at the top of this email that says, View this email in your browser. |
| Partnering to Provide School-Age Vaccinations Once again, we’re partnering with SSM Health, GHC, UW-Health, and Madison Metropolitan School District to provide school-age vaccinations at schools this fall. It’s a great opportunity to help families get the shots that are required for school attendance, including meningitis, which is now required (see page 2 for schedule). With a pertussis outbreak in Dane County, COVID on the rise all summer, and flu season starting in fall, we’ll be able to get kids up to date on all the vaccines they’re due for, helping them stay healthy and in the classroom! |
| New Initiatives to Improve Beach Testing This Summer This summer, staff in our laboratory implemented two new innovations to improve our beach water quality testing. We used a new rapid testing system that detects bacteria in water samples within 2 to 4 hours, compared to the usual method that provides results in 18 hours. This allowed us to re-open beaches much faster after a closure, leading to more beach days. We also piloted a system that helped us pre-emptively close certain beaches known to have high levels of bacteria in the water after heavy rains. The new system helped us shift to a proactive, rather than reactive mode of waiting for test results, allowing us to close unsafe beaches sooner to protect health and safety! During the summer, our beach conditions webpage is one of our most visited pages, showing how valuable beach water quality testing is to our community. We’ll be analyzing the success of these initiatives over the winter to determine if we’ll implement them again next year. |
| Environmental Scan of Hemp Products in Stores Completed Did you know 1 in 3 teens have tried cannabis by the 12th grade? The teenage brain is still developing and continues to develop until about age 25. Using cannabis during this time may harm the developing brain, causing difficulty thinking and problem-solving, difficulty maintaining attention, and more. It can also increase a teen’s risk of mental health issues and potential for addiction. While medicinal and recreational cannabis are illegal in Wisconsin, hemp derivatives that contain low levels of delta-9 tetra-hydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of the cannabis plant, are legal. They’re unregulated, and there is no age restriction to buying them. We recently completed an environmental scan of 68 stores throughout Dane County to assess the products being sold and their availability. We visited smoke & vape shops, gas stations, wellness stores, and more to look at things like external signage, flavors and packaging, signs about checking IDs, where products were positioned, and to chat with clerks. Some of what we saw has major implications for youth. Here are just a few of our findings: we found a total of 30 distinct cannabinoids in various products in teen-friendly flavors; candy-like edibles were available in almost every store; excluding THC beverages, 28% of stores had some self-serve component. In response to these findings, we’ll be doing community outreach on best use practices for those who use the products, and policy best practices for stores who sell the products. |
| Meet Our Board of Health Our Board of Health, including its newest member Leslie Seltzer, provides oversight and guidance for our department and is recognized by both the City of Madison and Dane County governing bodies. The Board’s work focuses on: Providing policy, financial, and contractual oversight Reviewing and recommending public health policies and regulations Assuring that state and local public health laws and regulations are enforced Recommending community public health priorities Our Board is made up of a County Board Supervisor, a Common Council member, three Dane County residents, and three City of Madison residents. You can learn about them on our Board of Health page, where you’ll also find agendas and meeting minutes, and statements and resolutions they’ve created. |
| Summer Outreach We had another great summer spreading the word about health and safety and providing support to community organizations at festivals and events around Dane County! We engaged with lots of community members to educate them about a wide range of topics, from PFAS, communicable diseases, and the higher prevalence of ticks this year, to our services they may be eligible for, like sexually transmitted infection screening & birth control, breast & cervical cancer screenings, pregnancy nurse home visits, syringe services, and WIC benefits. Here are a few pictures of our staff in action! |
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