Oswego County Health Department Celebrates ‘Unseen Heroes’

OSWEGO COUNTY – The Oswego County Health Department continues to highlight its various divisions in conjunction with National Public Health Week, which runs from April 7 to 13.

“This week, we’re highlighting our Environmental Health Division,” said Oswego County Public Health Director Vera Dunsmoor. “Staff in this division handle a lot of behind-the-scenes work at restaurants and hotels, public parks and buildings, remote locations and many other places around the county. It’s important for everyone to know how hard this team works to safeguard our water supplies, ensure safe food practices, respond to wildlife encounters and the many other tasks they manage in order to keep us all safe.”

Oswego County Director of Environmental Health Katelyn Parkhurst agreed, saying that the Environmental Division ensures public safety through routine inspections, thorough investigations, careful monitoring and other activities.

She added, “Our efforts protect the public at large, whether it’s through safety compliance such as hotel fire safety and permitting of mass gatherings or through more specific programs such as lead poisoning prevention, tobacco enforcement, rabies prevention, mosquito surveillance and more.”

The Environmental Division’s engineering staff work to ensure that public and residential drinking water is safe to consume. They sample and monitor water supplies to ensure compliance with the New York State Sanitary Code and issue boil water advisories when necessary to disinfect unsafe water. Water protection also includes engineering and septic plan review of on-site wastewater treatment systems, sampling new water mains and approving their use, sampling and monitoring wells, surface water and leachate at the Bristol Hill Sanitary Landfill Facility, and more.

Ensuring safety at food service establishments is another critical component of the division. Staff issue permits, conduct routine inspections, respond to complaints related to public health concerns, investigate reports of foodborne illness, offer technical consultation and education, and more. The division also responds to emergencies that could result in food contamination, such as fires, floods, power outages, and chemical and biological contamination.

Division staff manage a rabies prevention program as well. In addition to responding to those exposed to domestic or wild animals, the team also offers rabies vaccination clinics for pets. All clinics are by appointment only and can be scheduled exactly one week before the clinic. The next clinic is scheduled for Wednesday, April 23 at 6 p.m. at the city of Oswego DPW Garage, 114 Mitchell St., Oswego. Starting Wednesday, April 16, residents can call to make an appointment for the clinic at 315-349-3564. To view the full 2025 rabies clinic schedule, visit https://health.oswegocounty.com/programs/environmental1/rabies_program2.php.

The Environmental Division also conducts surveillance operations for mosquito-borne viruses that pose a risk to public health. Efforts are primarily aimed at Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV) and West Nile Virus (WNV). When necessary, the department completes aerial spraying to help reduce the population of mosquitoes that carry EEEV and WNV.

For more information, including the full list of programs that the Environmental Division oversees, visit https://health.oswegocounty.com/programs/environmental1/index.php

This year is the 30th anniversary of National Public Health Week, which serves to recognize and celebrate the hard work and dedication that goes into maintaining and promoting public health.

The Oswego County Health Department hosted various free activities throughout National Public Health Week, including CPR training, breast cancer screening and a mental health art show. The fun continues next week with a “Kids Day Beach Party” on Tuesday, April 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Catholic Charities of Oswego County, 808 W. Broadway, Fulton.

For more information on the Oswego County Health Department and its divisions, visit https://health.oswegocounty.com/ or call 315-349-3545.

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