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State RFP for Newburgh blood-testing services gets no response
Feb 07, 2017 6:55 am
Marie J. French is reporting at Politico New York the state Department of Health has been looking for contractors to administer blood tests to approximately 15,000 residents of Newburgh, where the water supply has been found to contain the toxic chemical PFOS, but no companies have responded. Newburgh is a predominantly minority city of 30,000 residents. Local officials and public health advocates are concerned about perceived delays in the first round of testing, the waiting list of those to be tests and the lack of an overarching outreach strategy. “They need to test everyone. That’s the only way as a community we’re going to be satisfied with the outcome for our area,” said Karen Mejia, a member of Newburgh's City Council. Approximately 3,400 have expressed interest in the testing, but the department has so far tested about 740 people. The first tests were done in November, but no results have been released yet. Outreach has been a particular concern in Newburgh, where nearly half the residents speak a language other than English at home. Public health advocates believe a broad education or advertising campaign is necessary to make sure residents know about the importance of getting tested. Read the full story at Politico New York.