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Ulster County Department of Health outlines prevention, preparedness and staff retention initiatives
Summary
Public health director Dr. Eve Walter briefed legislators on efforts to rebuild public trust, expand lead prevention and vaping education, prepare for emergencies and reduce staff burnout; the department plans a more granular Community Health Assessment and targeted improvement plan.
Dr. Eve Walter, public health director for the Ulster County Department of Health, told the Ulster County Legislature on May 20 that the department is focusing in 2025 on rebuilding trust, improving preparedness and reducing staff burnout.
“It's really important that our community trusts us,” Walter said, describing outreach to make people aware of the department’s services and the department’s movement-as-medicine campaign running on billboards and buses across the county.
Walter described three lead prevention programs the department operates: on-request household testing, mandatory home visits when a child has an elevated lead level, and a new lead registry focused on multi-dwelling buildings built before 1980 in Kingston that will narrow inspections and remediation efforts. She said the department has set up an easy-to-remember phone number to encourage residents to call with lead concerns.
On vaping, Walter said settlement funding will allow the department to expand anti-vaping work while state legislation is still pending to clarify local authority; a parental toolkit called Check to Protect has been developed to help parents identify devices that resemble toys or school supplies.
Walter described preparedness initiatives including playbooks for vaccine-preventable disease, emerging infectious disease and natural disasters; attention will be paid to medication management during power outages and tailored guidance for people with chronic conditions. The department also plans a county-level Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan using hospitalization and other granular data to target interventions by zip code, race, ethnicity and other factors.
Walter closed by outlining staff-wellness efforts aimed at reducing burnout, from office improvements and a staff snack room to a recognition program called the Golden Fawcett Award. She gave annual operational figures: about 800 restaurant inspections, 80 camps serving almost 15,000 children, roughly 800 water samples reviewed and tracking 45 children with elevated lead levels in the last year. "This group is busy. This group is amazing," she said.
Legislators did not take formal action during the presentation; the briefing served as an update on department priorities and planned work for the year.
