1972-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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20 so that the special needs of these handicapped children can be met at school, and so that no child will miss the opportunity of having appropriate physical education activities. She has asisted one school in an experimental posture screening and remedial pro- gram, and an illustrated instructional booklet has been prepared i` for teacher use. Scoliosis screening at appropriate age levels is now in effect in two school systems and could be developed in others. The Dental Hygienist has continued to provide dental health education and consultation service to parent groups, nurses, teach- ers and school programs. Motivating children to good oral health j practice and educating the public in the prevention of dental disease must be done as long as dental caries continue to be a top priority public health problem. Direct services such as screening and topical fluoride pro- grams were limited to pre-school children and Head Start pro- ? grams. During the summer months fluoride clinics for children entering school in the fall were held in two towns. Plans to continue an epidemiological research study of tooth enamel to determine the fluoride content are pending for the com- ing year. This study will be conducted in the Barnstable School System in conjunction with the Barnstable County Health Depart- ment and the Forsyth Dental Research Center. Environmental Health Report: Inspections are being carried out as provided by the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code for eat- ing establishments, swimming pools, recreational camps, tent sites j! and local sewage systems. This was the year of the "Red Tide" which caused heavy economic losses to the shellfishing industry on the north shore but no fatalities. "Red Tide" refers to the presence of the organ- i ism, gonyaulax, which causes paralytic shellfish poisoning. In handling this situation we received excellent cooperation from the 1 Boards of Health, Shellfish Constables and Police Departments. 1 This is the first emergency that we can recall where an organization was formed in a matter of hours to cope with the situation. This should be further developed for emergency use in the future. This year we have expanded our laboratory activities to in- clude examination of shellfish and expanded chemical examina- tion of water and sewage. The remodelling of office areas and of the Health Depart- ment laboratory has meant some inconvenience; the additional of- y',