West Nile Worries Top Health Department List of Concerns

To reduce risk of Mosquitoes bitten,

                                                        

Mosquitoes got top billing at Thursday's New Canaan Health Department meeting at Vine Cottage, as the next three to four weeks are expected to be the highest-risk biting period for the tiny, blood-sucking creatures. Although traces of positive-mosquito pools with West Nile Virus (WNV) turned up in 19 neighboring municipalities -- including Norwalk, Stamford, Darien, Greenwich and Fairfield -- the good news is that New Canaan has not received reports of any positive pools with either WNV or Eastern Equine Encephalitis, said Richard Werner, New Canaan Department of Health director.

"As far as mosquitoes go, they're linked with temperature," Werner said. "The higher the temperature, the quicker turnaround between larva and adult."
To reduce mosquito larva populations, Werner said the department hired mosquito consultants to perform two larvicide treatments of storm drains over the past six weeks.To reduce risk of getting bitten, Werner suggests home owners keep gutters and downspouts clear and eliminate pools of stagnant water. Werner also recommends using insecticide with DEET, and not being outside for the hour before or after sunset. Speaking of recommendations, the department's nine members had plenty when it came to improving the lives of New Canaan seniors.

The department outlines key needs and trends in its recently published "Senior Health Care & Housing Policy" plan, a 51-page document filled with data obtained from four focus groups with New Canaan seniors.According to the report, nearly 80 percent of seniors desire to remain in their own homes with home care service and support as necessary And because the cost of institutional and formal care is increasing, home health services could see a significant uptick in coming years. According to the report, the biggest concern among senior residents is the cost of aging. In response to the data collected, the report also outlines the health department's "strategic plan" to improve senior care, ramp up the use of home health services and telemedicine, and keep seniors in New Canaan.

Having already completed "Phase One" though focus group research, the department plans to launch "Phase Two" of its plan next week.  This will include outlining objectives and forecasting market needs based on the data, said Jim Lisher, chair of the Health & Human Services Commission.Ultimately, the research will be submitted to local government officials, and potentially to apply for grants for tools that improve the lives of seniors, such as wireless telemedicine equipment that helps reduce the number of unplanned hospital visits among seniors.

"When it's all over we hope to triage the things that can be done quickly," Lisher told Patch. "Our job is to look at the needs of seniors for the next 10 to 15 years."

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