Contact information:
N'sira Kourouma

Program Coordinator - COVID-19 ELC Enhancing Detection Expansion 

nkourouma@waterburyct.org

Tel: 203-574-6780 Ext. 7210

The Waterbury Health Department is here for you, Waterbury!

Our mission is to "Promote Healthier Families, Healthier Neighborhoods, and Healthier Community". We have served our City of Waterbury community through many historic challenges since 1910, including the now historic COVID-19 pandemic, 2020-2023. The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a reminder of how important it is to promote health and to prevent illness, especially illnesses caused by vaccine-preventable infections such as COVID-19, influenza and pneumonia among many others.

For more information about the Vaccine-Preventable Adult Diseases, visit:  https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/vpd.html

For more information about Vaccines for your Children, including Disease & Vaccines that Prevent Them, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/index.html

If you are interested in hosting our Health Promotion Specialists at your event or meeting to speak about health promotion and infection prevention, please call us!

Waterbury Health Department - Infection Control Division: Tel: (203) 573-6600

COVID-19 ELC Enhancing Detection Expansion

The City of Waterbury – Department of Public Health was awarded a 16-month, $1,019,512.68 grant by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CTDPH). The grant is for the period February 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024 and funds the following services: 1) Enhance laboratory detection, surveillance (case and contact investigation in accordance with the most current guidance from the CTDPH), response, informatics, and other workforce capacity; 2) strengthen laboratory testing volume and capacity; 3) coordinate and engage with partners as needed to respond to and prevent COVID-19; prevent and minimize transmission of COVID-19 and conduct health promotion activities related to prevention of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

The Waterbury Health Department received COVID-19 ELC funding from the CTDPH to support contact tracing and delivery of basic needs supports throughout the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, 2020-2022. The current funding continues the Department’s efforts to prevent COVID-19 and allows the Department to address the prevention of other infectious diseases.

Health Literacy Project

The City of Waterbury – Department of Public Health was awarded a $4 million, two-year federal grant by the US Department of Health & Human Services – Office of Public Health & Science and the Office of Minority Health to support programming for Advancing Health Literacy for Improved Health Outcomes. The City was among only 30 cities in the entire nation selected for this funding. The grant was for the period July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2023. Health literacy is a person’s ability to find, understand and use information and services to help them make health-related decisions for themselves and others. Health literacy is a central focus of the Healthy People 2030 blueprint for improving the health of the nation. Healthy People 2030 has elevated health literacy within one of its overarching goals: Eliminate health disparities, achieve health equity, and attain health literacy to improve the health and well-being of all.

 

The following City Departments, community organizations and healthcare providers were funded to provide services for the Waterbury Advancing Health Literacy Project:

City of Waterbury - Department of Public Health: Public Health Department (waterburyct.org)

City of Waterbury - Senior Citizens Center: Senior Services (waterburyct.org)

 

Community partners that provided outreach & health promotion included:

Center for Human Development: https://chd.org/locations/waterbury-administrative-office/

Grace Baptist Church: https://gracebaptistchurch-waterbury.com

Greater Waterbury Health Partnership:  https://healthywaterbury.org

Hispanic Coalition of Greater Waterbury: https://thehispaniccoalition.org/

New Opportunities Inc: http://www.newoppinc.org/

 

 

 

Healthcare partners that provided clinical services included::

Community Health Center Inc:  https://www.chc1.com/Locations/Waterbury/

Saint Mary's Hospital: https://www.stmh.org/

StayWell Health Center: https://staywellhealth.org

Wheeler Family Health & Wellness Center: www.wheelerclinic.org/services/wheeler-services/wheeler-family-health-and-wellness-center-waterbury

 

 

The City of Waterbury Advancing Health Literacy program provided the following services:

• Linkage to medical homes for adult and pediatric primary care services
• Mobile health services in high-need neighborhoods to increase access to primary care services
• Establishment of fixed site and popup Community Information Hubs in high-need neighborhoods
• Outreach, health education and health promotion by Community Health Workers, including bilingual services
• Community-based screenings and referrals for health and social services, and more

 

 

We are proud to serve our community, and have achieved the following accomplishments:

• Development of WHD Health Literacy Plan, Evaluation Plan and AHL Partner work plans
• Close collaboration and coordination among AHL partners by mean of Base Camp application
• Multi-partner hiring of Community Health Workers for outreach and service referrals by means of the Unite Us platform
• Robust calendar of events and ongoing services by AHL partners including children’s physical exam and immunization program, COVID vaccine clinics, and more
• Grand Round monthly educational services for AHL partners and other community health care providers, as well as evaluation and technical assistance provided by the Weitzman Institute
• Focus on implementation of Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards to advance health equity, improve quality, and help eliminate health care disparities. WHD participated in a CLAS Cohort facilitated by Yale University, which included development of WHD Health Equity Plan, identification and rollout of two CLAS standards at the WHD focused on language assistance services, and establishment of the WHD Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee

 

Valuable Resources for Our Community:

Get Connected Waterbury is a one-stop connection to resources for Waterbury residents. Powered by data from Connecticut 2-1-1’s statewide database of more than 40,000 health and human services resources, this Waterbury-specific website was made possible through a partnership between Bridge to Success, the City of Waterbury, the United Way of Greater Waterbury, the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness and the United Way 2-1-1. Get Connected Waterbury gives Waterbury residents access to a continually updated, comprehensive database of a broad range of services provided by the City, non-profit and community-based organizations. Visit www.getconnectedwaterbury.com to learn more about the many resources available to Waterbury residents. 

Area Resources for School Physicals & Immunizations:

To locate a healthcare provide for needed school physicals and immunizations for your child, visit: Area_Resources_for_School_Physicals_%26__Immunizations_-_Updated_on_7-14-2023.pdf (waterburyct.org)

 

 

 

Adults need vaccines too! Answer a few quick questions
to find out which vaccines you may need:  The Adult Vaccine Quiz | CDC