Health Department

Located in the Town Offices
10892 NYS Route 9N
Keene, NY 12942

The Keene Health Officer works with Essex County Public Health and New York State Health Department.
The Health Officer responds to local complaints of public health violations, and, advises the town on our response to public health issues.

A message from the Health Officer:

As the Town Health Officer, I do beach water testing each summer at our town beach, as mandated by NYS Department of Health.  Our pristine mountain water always passes the test!  I’ve also responded to the occasional complaint of an overflowing septic tank.  

 

In previous years, I have followed the emergence of such threats as West Nile Virus and Lyme Disease.  I’ve worked with Essex County Public Health to advise the public on safe practices.  (Like, don’t leave standing water for mosquitos to breed in.  Or, protect yourself from tick bites.)  

 

Those episodes were training drills for the Covid 19 pandemic that emerged in 2020.  I have been part of conversations about our town’s response.  Businesses, schools, post office, churches, EMS and fire departments all adopted safety practices, and did so with remarkable agility.  We had to address policies toward hikers and travelers, welcoming visitors to our town, while maintaining safe practices.  I was particularly involved with the Keene Farmers Market.  

 

As I write this, vaccines have become available.  The logistical challenges of developing and distributing vaccines has been monumental.  Locally, volunteers have been helping our higher risk people deal with the online scheduling process.  

 

We can be reasonably optimistic about an eventual return to “normal life”.  But in the meantime, we urge our residents to get vaccinated and continue to wear masks, with or without vaccination. We continue our social distancing and all these emotionally draining limits on our activities.

 

Our response has been a testament to our caring and conscientious people.