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Health department: naloxone in AEDs, disaster mental‑health training, EI Hub and clinic pressures
Summary
Orange County health officials reported plans to place naloxone kits in AED cabinets, expand disaster mental‑health training, noted pressures on clinic staffing and early intervention telehealth payment cuts, and gave clinic satisfaction and compliance scores.
Orange County health officials reported program updates including adding naloxone kits to automated external defibrillator (AED) cabinets in county buildings, expanding the county’s disaster mental‑health volunteer team and training, and ongoing concerns with early intervention (EI) rollout and telehealth payment reductions.
“...we will now have naloxone kits, which is, also known as Snopan. It's overdose reversal medication ... That will now be in the AED kits in, all of our county buildings,” said Todd Grama, deputy commissioner of social services and mental health, describing a plan to make naloxone available to staff and the public in county facilities.
Trimble and other health staff described an expanded disaster mental‑health team that has supported schools and community agencies after traumatic incidents. Staff said the New York State Office of Mental Health asked Orange County to present its long‑standing team model at a regional planning workshop; staff also plan to bring additional psychological first‑aid and threat‑assessment training to local responders. “We want to make sure we have as many members as possible because we can't have the same people going out over and over again to these really emotionally intense situations and not have others who can step in so that we're not burning our team out,” Trimble said.
Clinic performance and staffing: County‑operated clinics showed strong satisfaction in a Port Jervis survey, Trimble said: “I believe it was 97% that they would recommend our Port Jervis clinic to somebody else.” Compliance audit scores cited in the meeting were 98% for adult services and 96% for children’s services; staff said 85% is a passing score. The record contained an incomplete line for a departmental compliance percentage and staff clarified that no compliance issues were found in the third quarter.
Early intervention (EI) concerns: County staff said the statewide EI Hub rollout remains problematic and that the state has proposed a 20% cut to telehealth payments for EI services. Trimble warned the county may return to the legislature if the change materially affects local operations.
School‑based services and satellites: The department reported 23 active satellite school sites and five additional school buildings in process for approvals, and said satellite services provided more than 10,000 services in the year reviewed — about 2,000 more than the prior year.
Public health surveillance: RSV, flu and COVID case counts rose following the holidays, and staff reminded the public that hand sanitizer does not kill norovirus and that soap and water are recommended.
The department also reported outreach related to New York State’s incoming lead rental registry regulations and said it is working with municipalities including Middletown and attempting to engage Newburgh.
