S. Jersey Health Departments Join Forces

COURT HOUSE -– Freeholder Gerald Thornton announced Jan. 9 that the Cape May County Health Department and other area health departments have received a grant for two public heath initiatives.
“For the last five years the health departments in South Jersey have been working together to address common public health issues as part of the Southern Regional Governmental Public Health Partnership,” Thornton said in a release.
This Collaborative which includes health departments from Atlantic City, the City of Vineland, Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem, and Ocean Counties has been working on two projects – to increase childhood vaccination rates and to improve the quality of services Health Departments provide.
Recently, the Southern Regional Governmental Public Health Partnership received a $15,000 grant from the New Jersey Collaborative for Excellence in Public Health (NJCEPH) to fund these two projects. The funds will be used to purchase vaccine literature and pamphlets which will be distributed at the doctor’s offices.
“In these difficult economic times, it makes sense for us to be work together sharing resources and expertise to better provide for our residents,” said Thornton.
“By working on public health issues collaboratively, this effort has the potential to impact over three million residents in South Jersey,” added county Health Officer Kevin Thomas. “Public health professionals work hard to prevent the spread of disease, but we do most of our work out of the public’s eye. This is an exciting opportunity to work together and with the public to improve the health of Southern Jersey.”
The grant was made possible by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and supports the development of quality improvement initiatives within Health Departments to enhance the delivery of public health services.