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PARTNERS | HEALTHY CITY | HOW HEALTHY | VISION | SUMMIT | PRIORITIES | FUNCTIONS | CITY OF FALL RIVER |
Fall River
Health and Human Service Director Michael Coughlin offered his first
public education session on the topic "A Healthy City is a Prepared
City" at the Fall River First Baptist Church on May 21, 2006. Mr.
Coughlin was invited to speak by the Church's "Safe Church" Committee.
During his remarks, Mr. Coughlin explained that at some point in the
future, it is expected that the United States and the rest of the world
will experience a
major influenza outbreak possibly associated with the avian flu.
Previous pandemics occurred in 1918, 1957 and 1968 involving
millions of people world-wide. The 1918 pandemic, which originated in
Danvers, MA, was the most severe in the 20th Century killing hundreds of
thousands throughout the U.S. In Fall River, emergency hospital beds
were set up to handle the overflow of patients from Union, Truesdale and
St. Anne's Hospital, including a clinic established in the building on
Pine Street then part of First Baptist Church. Mr. Coughlin described
the City's current plan for dealing with a similar outbreak and made
specific
recommendations for what people should do to prepare as outlined by
the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Any group wishing to have
Mr. Coughlin make a similar presentation can contact him at 508-324-2401
or by e-mail at
Mcoughlin@fallriverma.org. |
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(Top row) Mr. Coughlin addresses members of the congregation and guests after a brief introduction by Rev. Donald Mier. (Middle row) Members pose questions to Mr. Coughlin about sensible steps to take to prepare for the event of a pandemic flu or any similar emergency. Mr. Coughlin emphasized the importance of establishing a family disaster plan similar to the plans that area businesses are making to deal with the possibility of widespread illness that could last for weeks or months. (Bottom row, center) The Church's former Herrick House building on Pine Street, constructed in 1918 behind First Baptist Church, was put into service as an overflow hospital during the influenza outbreak that swept the state and nation. |
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