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Dare County Department of Public Health |
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NEWS RELEASES
Information about
H1N1 Thursday, February 4, 2010 Anyone who loves good company, gourmet seafood, and learning new things will love Dare Respite Care’s kickoff fundraiser for Valentine’s weekend on Thursday, February 11 at Cozy Kitchens in Kitty Hawk from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Professional Chef Scott Foster of Coastal Provisions Market, in Southern Shores, will lead participants through a cooking demonstration and wine pairing featuring gourmet seafood. Other sponsors include SoundWavz Entertainment and Metro Rental. Tickets are available for $75 each and can be obtained by contacting Stephanie Bowers, Dare Respite Care Program Coordinator, at (252) 475-5057 or stephanieb@darenc.com. All proceeds raised by the event
will go to Dare Respite Care. Dare Respite Care is administered by Dare
Home Health & Hospice, an agency of the Dare County Department of Public
Health. Dare Respite Care provides the highest quality in-home respite services to families providing care for a loved one due to age, frailty, or illness. The program matches trained volunteers to individuals and their family caregivers, taking into consideration the unique needs of each family. Dare Respite Care is committed to assisting individuals and their families by providing information about available community resources and facilitating connections to resources as appropriate. # # #
Monday, February 1, 2010
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month Local dentists will participate in “Give Kids a Smile Day” on Wednesday, February 5 as one of many activities planned for National Children’s Dental Health Month. On this day, they will offer
free dental care to In addition to the free dental services offered on February 5, Dare County Department of Public Health (DCDPH) School Nurses and other local healthcare providers promote this event each February by providing classroom presentations on dental health in the elementary grades and handing out tooth brushes, dental floss & information. Recent activities have also featured poster, coloring and essay contests. The DCDPH recognizes the importance of dental
health to a child’s overall health and provides dental care and hygiene
education for children.
To help increase access to dental care for children, the DCDPH Miles of
Smiles Dental Van program was established to provide dental care at
school for un-insured and underinsured students. Today the van travels
to all county elementary schools twice per year seeing children for
basic dental care. Each child is taught how to brush their teeth and
provided information good dental hygiene habits. “Teeth are meant to last a
lifetime, and a healthy smile is important to a child’s self-esteem.
With proper care, a balanced diet and regular dental visits, their teeth
can remain healthy and strong,” comments DCDPH Director If you have questions about good oral health habits or about the dental van, please call Judy Flagge at the Dare County Department of Public Health (252) 475 5003. For a Sparkly Smile, Remember to Brush & Floss Every Day! Tuesday, January 26, 2010
DCDPH, students produce video on smoke free law Dare County and To demonstrate that point, Manteo High School Peer
Power and SADD students worked with This PSA video was made by the Dare County Public Relations Department to be broadcast on the Government Access Cable Channel 20. It will also air on DCS – TV Channel 19, the school district’s channel.
The purpose of the PSA is to explain the law signed by NC Governor Bev
Perdue banning the use of tobacco in all restaurants and bars. Students
used a timeline in the production to show the progression of tobacco
prevention in In 2005, Dare County Schools became
100% tobacco free; in 2007, the College of the Albemarle became the first
community college in North Carolina to ban tobacco on all of its campuses;
by 2008, over 100 restaurants in Dare County had voluntarily elected to be
smoke free; in 2009, the Dare County Department of Public Health (DCDPH)
became 100% smoke free; and, in 2010, all restaurants and bars in Following the student’s timeline presentation, Thomas and Sproul discussed the educational packet that was sent to all bars and restaurants in December and what is required of restaurants and bars in order to be in compliance with the new smoke free law that went into effect on January 2, 2010. There is also a website www.smokefree.nc.gov that provides tools for businesses, answers frequently asked questions and offers information on how to quit smoking. The tools for businesses link features; the no smoking signage, a training poster for employees, a brochure for customers and the North Carolina Smoke-Free Law: Guide for Business Owners.
Businesses having questions about the new smoke free law can contact # # #
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Cervical Cancer: Best Protection is Early Detection An estimated 394 women in
January is Cervical Health Awareness month and
the focus is on raising awareness of the importance of prevention and
screening for cervical cancer.
If detected early,
cervical cancer is one of the most treatable cancers. A Pap test offers
the best opportunity to detect cervical cancer at an early stage, when
successful treatment is likely. A Pap test is a quick
and simple, generally painless test that identifies abnormal cell
changes in and around the cervix that can develop into cancer. Regular
Pap tests can detect these changes before they have a chance to turn
into cervical cancer.
Many deaths from cervical cancer could be prevented by regular screening and necessary treatment. Other preventative factors include not smoking, using condoms, and limiting your number of sexual partners. Human papilloma viruses (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer. There is now a vaccine that may help in preventing HPV infections. Two licensed vaccines have been found to prevent most of the types of HPV that are associated with cervical cancer. Because the vaccines do not prevent all types of HPV, it is still recommended that Pap tests be done. Talk with your health care provider to decide if the vaccine is right for you or your daughter. Free or low cost breast and
cervical cancer screening services and follow-up care are available to
eligible women in the state of
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