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Leominster Health Department
Bioterrorism and Homeland Security
The Leominster Health Department is actively involved with the Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) with regards to Bio-terrorism and Homeland Security. Thomas Connell is the MMRS Coordinator and he can be reached at 508-799-8567. Jana Ferguson is the Senior Region 2 Coordinator for the MDPH, she can be reached at 508-792-7880

Leominster is one of 74 cities and towns that are in Emergency Preparedness Region 2 and our Health Director is a member of the Executive Oversight Committee.

The Health Department is also working on the local level with the Leominster Emergency Management, the Police Department and the Fire Department to develop inter-departmental planning for emergencies. To help with these efforts the Federal Government is channeling funds from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to cities and towns as part of the Homeland Security grant program.


For further information please use the following websites:

MMRS http://mmrs.fema.gov/

MDPH www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/

CDC www.bt.cdc.gov/
 
Sharps Disposal Guidelines from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health

According to the Coalition for Safe Community Needle Disposal (CSND), 2-3 billion injections are made outside of traditional health care facilities in the United States annually. It is estimated that 8 million syringes are disposed of into the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream. This increases the risk of blood borne disease transmission to the waste disposal workers.

The Leominster Health Department recommends that persons using disposable syringes place them into a “sharps” container and have a licensed company dispose of them in a legal manner. Your primary care physician may be able to provide you with companies that provide these services. If this is not feasible you may dispose of them through the MSW disposal if they are properly packaged. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) requires that the sharps be placed in rigid containers such as coffee cans or detergent bottles and labeled as “Not for Recycling” before disposing them into the rubbish. Please tape the tops of the containers properly to prevent the sharps from falling out and becoming a hazard during handling.