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In this monthly issue:
In observance of Independence Day, all PWHD offices and clinics will be closed on Thursday, July 4th.
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🗣️Your Health, Your Voice: Be a Part of the CHA!
The Prince William Health District (PWHD) alongside the Community Healthcare Coalition of Greater Prince William (CHCGPW) is committed to improving the health and well-being of everyone in our community.
To do this, we need your help with something called the CHA which stands for Community Health Assessment. But what is a CHA and why should you care?
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CHA: What's It All About?
A CHA is a way for us to learn about the health of our community. Information is collected about what health problems are affecting community members, what services are available and what needs to improve. We get this info from health data, surveys, listening sessions, and most importantly, from YOU!
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Shape Health Priorities: Your feedback helps us find out what health issues are important to our community. This way, we can focus on what matters to you.
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Help Improve Health: By telling us what you need, can work to create programs and services that make our community healthier.
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Add Your Voice: This is your time to let us know about what health services and program you think the community needs more of.
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Learn About Health Conditions: Get informed about the health issues in our community. Knowing more can help you make better health choices and push for changes.
How Can You Be a Part of the CHA?
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Join Meetings: Come to CHCGPW virtual meetings to hear about the CHA planning process and share your ideas.
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Share and Take the CHA Survey (coming soon!)
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Join Listening Sessions: Be a part of small group discussions to give us detailed feedback.
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Stay Updated: Check out the CHCGPW website and follow PWHD social media for news and updates.
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Summer Swim Safety 🏊
Summer is in full swing, and it's time to refresh our swimming safety knowledge! Whether you are heading to a pool, splash pad, or natural body of water here are some tips to ensure your swimming adventures are both fun and safe.
Prevent Swimming-Related Illnesses
Maintain Pool Cleanliness: Regularly check and keep the pool's chemical levels to keep the water safe from harmful germs.
Personal Hygiene: Shower before entering the pool and avoid swimming if you have diarrhea, to prevent spreading germs.
Prevent Drowning
👀Supervision: Always supervise children closely when they are in or around water. Assign a water watcher to keep an eye on all swimmers.
🏊Swim Skills: Make sure everyone knows how to swim well. Enroll children in swim lessons if they have not learned yet.
🦺 Safety Equipment: Use life jackets in natural bodies of water, and ensure they fit properly.
🚫 Avoid Alcohol: Avoid drinking alcohol before or during swimming, boating, or other water activities.
Special Considerations for Natural Bodies of Water
✅Check Water Conditions: Before swimming in the ocean, a river or lake, check for water quality advisories to ensure it's safe from harmful bacteria or algae blooms.
🌊 Be Aware of Currents: In oceans, lakes, and rivers, be mindful of currents and underwater hazards.
VDH Beach Monitoring
Did you know? VDH monitors the water quality of public beaches along the coast of Virginia! Beach monitoring takes place between May and September on a weekly basis. Follow @VDHBeach on X to receive monitoring alerts.
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#BeatTheHeat
High heat and humidity can be dangerous, leading to heat cramps, heart exhaustion, and heat stroke.
Stay safe by following these tips:
1. Stay Cool Indoors: Use air conditioning (a/c) to keep cool. If you don't have a/c, go to public places like malls, community centers, or libraries.
2. Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water, even if you do not feel thirsty.
3. Wear Light Clothing: Choose loose, lightweight, and light-colored clothes.
Find information about local cooling centers near you.
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Know the Signs of Heat Illness
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Heat Cramps: Muscle pains or spasms.
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Heat Exhaustion: Heavy sweating, pale skin, weakness, nausea/vomiting.
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Heat Stroke: High body temperature, hot and dry skin, confusion or fainting.
- Heat stroke is a medical emergency-call 911 right away.
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PWHD Grant Recipients Spotlight
Since Fall of 2023 through 2024 the PWHD has awarded 6 grants totaling $467,667 to community-based organizations (CBOs). Grant recipients were chosen for funding after submitting proposals that would fund innovative strategies to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for those disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
Literacy Volunteers of America-Prince William (LVA-PW)
LVA-PW provides dignity, equity, and
inspiration to individuals in Prince William Couty through the gift of literacy and health literacy.
Through this grant they will work to reach and teach vaccine awareness to hundreds of students enrolled in their adult education program. Students represent Prince William County, and the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park and those who are most at risk and medically underserved.
Insight of Vaccine Awareness by LVA-PW Students: In one of their ESL classes, students were tasked in writing down their thoughts on whether they should be vaccinated. LVA-PW then posted their writings on their social media and noted that their Facebook post was read by nearly 9,000 people!
The paragraph had to include the following writing elements: a hook, transition sentence, topic sentence, a body with good organization and sentence flow, and a concluding sentence.
An example of their writings is featured below:
The First Vaccine
“There has been confusion and misunderstandings about vaccines. But vaccinations are
an important part of family and public health. Vaccines prevent the spread of
contagious, dangerous, and deadly diseases. These include measles, polio, mumps,
chicken pox, whooping cough, diphtheria, HPV, and COVID-19. The first vaccine discovered was the smallpox vaccine. Smallpox was a deadly illness. It killed 300 million to 500 million people around the world in the last century. After the vaccine was given to people, the disease was eventually erased.”
- LVA-PW Student NAH
Visit lvapw.org and view Student Thoughts-Vaccinations to read student's unedited thoughts on the subject.
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Full List of Grant Recipients
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A Healthy Start to the New School Year Begins Now
Most students entering school for the first time will receive the vaccines they need from their health care provider or local health department prior to school entry.
Rising 7th graders and 12th graders will need additional vaccines and without them, your child may not be able to start school on time. If your child is insured, they may have other options to get their immunizations faster through a pediatrician or pharmacy.
The PWHD also offers these vaccines for school! Here is how to contact us now and skip the end of summer rush:
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Mobile Clinics for Rising 7th and 12th Graders - Our mobile clinic unit will be providing HPV, Tdap, and meningococcal immunizations.
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Visit bit.ly/mcu-schedule weekly for updated locations, dates, and times, and learn what to bring!
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Local Health District Appointment Availability
- Call Manassas clinic at (703) 792-6300 or Woodbridge clinic at (703) 792-7300 to schedule an appointment.
- Visit PWHD immunization services for more information.
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Check out the VDH vaccine schedule in English or Spanish.
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Join our team!
PWHD is hiring for the following roles:
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