Americans are living 20 years longer than their grandparents’ generation, largely thanks to the work of public health. To ensure everyone has a chance at a long and healthy life, we must tackle the underlying causes of poor health and disease risk.

Those causes are rooted in how and where we live, learn, work and play. That’s why, during National Public Health Week April 3-9, 2017, Generation Public Health is rallying around a goal of making the U.S. the Healthiest Nation in One Generation. This is a challenge that we, the public health community, are uniquely positioned to help overcome.

During this year’s National Public Health Week, Madison County Health Department will host two information sessions free and open to the public on Tuesday, April 4 at the Health Department at 138 North Court Street, Building 5 in Wampsville (behind the DMV).

The first session from 9:30am-10:30am will address hot topics for moms and babies: safe sleep for infants and breastfeeding. Learn the ABC’s of sleeping babies, including the recommendations for sleep placement and a safe sleep environment. Learn how to get breastfeeding off to a good start, tips for going back to work or school, how to support the nursing mom, and how increasing initiation and duration of breastfeeding can help our communities.

The second session from 11:00am-12:00pm will focus on vector-borne diseases from ticks and mosquitoes. Tick-borne diseases are becoming a more common and serious problem across the country, including in NY state. Learn about types of illnesses caused by ticks as well as prevention strategies to avoid tick bites. Concern has increased about diseases spread by mosquitoes from Eastern Equine Encephalitis to Zika Virus. These diseases and how they spread will be discussed with strategies to avoid bites at home and while travelling.

To save your seat or for more information, call 366-2848 or email health@madisoncounty.ny.gov.

By martha

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