Evening Bulletin
08/03/2007
Delco Dems Campaign On Health Dept.
By: Bradley Vasoli , The Bulletin
Havertown - David Landau, a Democratic candidate for Delaware County Council, urged the formation of a county health department on Thursday, saying the county is facing a "decline in public health."
Speaking in front of the Havertown Center for Older Adults with state Sen. Connie Williams, D-Delaware and Montgomery, Landau painted an unflattering picture of health care in the jurisdiction.
"We have fallen behind in public health issues," Landau said. "The numbers aren't getting better; they're getting worse."
Landau pointed to several trends he said did not reflect well on the county's management of health issues. The county has seen an increase in low birth weights over the past five years, he observed. And the percentage of adults who visit a physician as often as suggested has declined from 94.5 in 2004 to 83.4 in 2006.
Landau also mentioned the rising rate of sexually transmitted diseases among county residents and noted that Delaware County has the third highest cancer rate among Pennsylvania counties.
The Wallingford Democrat took particular issue with the comparatively non- interventionist methods the county has employed on health issues. Delaware County does not have a health department, strictly speaking. It maintains an Office of Intercommunity Health, which coordinates efforts to provide health services among the county's private health care institutions.
According to Landau, this is not enough. He has criticized the structure of the current agency as understaffed and not tailored to the needs of the county. The office, he said, does not make a habit of employing public health professionals.
"As a result," Landau wrote in an outline of the Democrats' county health plan, "we are forced to rely on nonprofit organizations, the charity of the private sector and the underfunded health inspection efforts of our cash-strapped municipal government. The result has been insufficient promotion of preventative measures, strict inspection standards, community awareness and health education for Delaware County citizens."
Landau said that a newly created health department would be charged chiefly with improving illness prevention efforts, sponsoring educational programs, improving food and water inspection and implementing health coordination services.
Foremost among the preventative measures that Landau wants stepped up in the county is prenatal screening. He said that a county health department would render the jurisdiction eligible for funding under Title V from the Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau to put toward such screening.
"These services are best provided through partnerships with the private sector, but the grant money is unavailable to the county or to private health care provides with public health care programs such as Crozer Keystone Health Systems in Delaware County without a county health department as a partner," Landau's plan stated.
The Democrat also criticized the fact that each municipality must set its own health standards and thus must conduct its own inspections of restaurants, wells and other entities. He does not believe these small jurisdictions have the resources to hire the manpower necessary to undertake this task, so he is pushing for countywide inspection standards.
Landau's plan also calls for attempting to curb the increase in STDs by providing free HIV/AIDS testing. He emphasized that alerting those who have the disease will prevent many of them from exposing others to it.
Williams expressed wholehearted enthusiasm for this facet of the Democratic candidates' agenda. She lamented the fact that Republicans have held all seats on the council ever since the county's home rule charter was approved three decades ago.
"I'm very supportive of David Landau and his campaign," Williams said. "We need to really change what's happening in Delaware County."
Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin.us.