By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Reflecting the downturn in the economy, the number of township residents seeking services from the Lawrence Township Health Department is growing, according to township Health Officer Carol Chamberlain.
The increase has been noticeable in the number of children — both preschool and school-age — who are relying on the township Health Department for their routine physical exams and immunizations, Ms. Chamberlain said.
However, the Health Department does not provide clinics for persons who are ill, Ms. Chamberlain said.
The physical exams and immunizations are required before a child can be enrolled in public school, she said. The Health Department provides those services to children whose families live in Lawrence and who either lack health insurance or are under-insured.
“If the family does not have health insurance or there is not enough health insurance, they are eligible to come to the Health Department,” Ms. Chamberlain said. “Some health insurance plans do not cover certain services.”
In 2007, 31 infants and preschool-age children (up to 6 years old) were seen by a Health Department nurse or the pediatrician under contract with the township at the child health clinics, Ms. Chamberlain said. That number jumped to 43 in 2008, she said.
Ms. Chamberlain said the Health Department provides “well-baby” clinics. The pediatrician checks the infants and toddlers to determine whether they have met developmental milestones, she said.
The Health Department also provides physical exams for high school students who want to participate in athletic programs if their families lack health insurance or are under-insured, she said. The physical exams are required before a student can play on a sports team.
The number of infants and preschool-age children who received immunizations at the clinics also climbed — from 46 in 2007 to 61 in 2008, she said. Those immunizations include measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis A and B, rotavirus, inactivated poliovirus and diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.
Ms. Chamberlain said the number of children ages 7 to 18 who received immunizations also is on the upswing. In 2007, 153 children received immunizations but that number soared to 229 in 2008. The older children receive similar vaccinations as the infants and preschool children.
All of the vaccines are provided by the state Department of Health and Human Services through its “vaccines for children” program, she said.
“There are more children who don’t have health insurance,” Ms. Chamberlain said. “Their parents have lost their jobs and their health insurance, or there are people who recently moved here.”
“Sometimes, people move here from another country and they are not eligible for insurance yet or they can’t afford private insurance,” she said. “But the children need the immunizations to enroll in school.”
The Health Department also conducts inspections of restaurants, but that number has declined, Ms. Chamberlain said. The department inspected 301 eating establishments in 2007, but only 277 last year.
“Restaurants come and go (at the shopping centers),” she said. “There is a certain amount of turnover among the restaurants that happens in those locations.”
In addition to restaurant inspections, the Health Department reviews the plans for new restaurants or renovations to existing restaurants, Ms. Chamberlain said. The number of requests for plan reviews also has fallen — from 24 in 2007 to eight last year.

