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Health department issues Hantavirus release, highlights community mental-health outreach
Summary
County staff said they issued a Hantavirus press release to provide early information and counter misinformation, and reported expansion of community-based mental-health wellness groups at supportive-housing sites and ongoing home-visit services.
A staff report noted the county issued a press release about Hantavirus after local concern and misinformation began circulating; the release stated that the risk to Tompkins County residents is low and that the department wanted to provide information proactively.
Staff also highlighted ongoing community mental-health work: two county clinicians have been running offsite mental-health wellness groups at Titus Towers with topics that included boundaries, coping tools, grief and communication skills. Staff said the groups prompted follow-up individual therapy for several participants and that the department intends to expand outreach to other supportive-housing sites (including Ellis Hollow). County clinicians and psychiatric nurse practitioners have also conducted home visits and coordinated services with the County Office for the Aging.
Board members suggested dusting off other virus-communication plans (e.g., Ebola) as needed and praised the mental-health outreach work. No formal board action was recorded on these updates.
