Public Health Nurse

Public Health Nursing Services and Roles

Works with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to track communicable diseases and protect public health
Engages in health promotion and community outreach
Collaborates and coordinates with schools, COA, state agencies, etc
Implements immunization clinics, blood pressure clinics, and other clinics
Facilitates home visits (e.g. immunization of homebound residents, assessing for need for support and referrals, education etc.)
Engages in community assessments
Assists with Emergency Preparedness

News & Now

Influenza: What You Need to Know

Influenza (flu) cases are on the rise in Massachusetts. Here are some important points to keep in mind:

Symptoms can include high fever, chills, muscle aches, headache, fatigue, cough, sore throat and congestion, and usually appear 1–4 days after infection.
The flu is commonly spread from person to person through respiratory droplets when people cough, sneeze, or talk.
People infected with the flu virus can spread it 1 day before symptoms begin and up to 5–7 days after becoming sick.
Flu vaccination can help prevent severe illness.
Getting vaccinated is especially important for those at higher risk of severe illness, including young children, pregnant women, people with certain chronic health conditions, and adults age 65 and older.

Most importantly, stay home from work or school if you feel sick to help prevent spreading the flu to others.

It’s not too late to get your flu shot! Flu vaccines are available at your local pharmacy and are covered by most insurance carriers.

Prevent Tick Bites: Use EPA-registered repellents. Check yourself, your child, and pets for ticks once a day; if you find one attached, remove it promptly using fine tweezers or a tick removal tool. For more, see mass.gov/mosquitoes-and-ticks
Prevent Mosquito Bites: Eliminate standing water around your home, repair window and door screens, and use appropriate insect repellents. Stay up to date on local risk.

Measles: What You Need to Know
- Measles is a highly contagious virus that can lead to serious health complications. It spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and the virus can linger in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours.
- The best protection is the MMR vaccine, which is recommended for children, adults, and travelers to prevent outbreaks and protect those who cannot be vaccinated.
- Learn more about measles, symptoms, and vaccination recommendations from the CDC: 🔗 Measles Resources | Measles (Rubeola) | CDC

Join Our Local Medical Reserve Corps

The Medical Reserve Corps is a national network of volunteers, organized locally to improve the health and safety of their communities. In Massachusetts, the MRC network is comprised of 35 units. Each unit is organized to best suit the unique challenges of its area. In all cases, MRC units are local assets and are deployed at the discretion of local MRC unit protocols. Every MRC unit is led by a local MRC Unit Coordinator, who matches local volunteer capabilities and schedules with local needs for both emergency responses and public health initiatives.

Currently, there are over 8,000 credentialed volunteers across the Massachusetts MRC network. These volunteers are both clinical and non-clinical. Massachusetts MRC units are currently providing local responses to COVID-19 in their communities for activities ranging from supporting testing sites, vaccination clinics, contact tracing, providing wellness checks and support services in local communities, among other tasks that arise.

Central Middlesex Medical Reserve Corps (CMMRC)

CMMRC serves the communities of Acton, Bedford, Boxborough, Carlisle, Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Maynard, Stow, Winchester, and Woburn.

The Central Middlesex MRC is part of the national Medical Reserve Corps network of volunteers. The national MRC network comprises 989 community-based units and almost 200,000 volunteers located throughout the United States and its territories. MRC volunteers include both medical and public health professionals and community members with non-medical, but equally valuable, backgrounds. For more information and how to join us...

Medical Reserve Corp Map

Communicable Disease

Infectious diseases are a continuing threat to the public’s health. They cause illness, suffering, and death, and they place an enormous financial burden on society. Although some infectious diseases have been controlled by modern advances, diseases are constantly emerging or re-emerging. State public health officials rely on local boards of health (LBOH), health care providers, laboratories, and other public health personnel to report the occurrence of reportable diseases. Without such data, trends cannot be accurately monitored, unusual occurrences of diseases (such as outbreaks) cannot be detected and appropriately addressed, and the effectiveness of control and prevention activities cannot be easily evaluated.

Disease surveillance, reporting, and control are required by law under Massachusetts General Law. The Massachusetts Virtual Epidemiologic Network (MAVEN) is the secure web-based integrated disease surveillance and case management system that allows MDPH and Local Public Health to securely capture clinical, epidemiologic, and laboratory information relevant to reportable infectious diseases. The system is designed to protect the privacy of individuals and ensure that information is only accessed by authorized personnel. Disease surveillance is an essential component of any public health system and is used to monitor disease trends over time, detect disease outbreaks, prevent further spread of disease, and increase our knowledge of risk factors contributing to disease development.

Respiratory Virus Guidance

COVID-19 remains an important public health threat, but it is no longer the emergency that it once was, and its health impacts increasingly resemble those of other respiratory viral illnesses, including influenza and RSV. CDC has issued updated Respiratory Virus Guidance that provides the public with recommendations and information about effective steps and strategies tailored to the current level of risk posed by COVID-19 and other common respiratory viral illnesses. The updated guidance emphasizes the importance of staying home and away from others when sick from respiratory viruses, regardless of the virus, as well as additional preventive actions.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has reviewed CDC's recent guidance and updated its recommendations for the general public to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, accessible here: Staying home to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses | Mass.gov.
To learn more about CDC’s updated guidance for how people can protect themselves and their communities from respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, see the following: