Rockland County

Allison-Parris County Office Building
11 New Hempstead Rd
New City, NY 10956
Phone: (845) 638-5122
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Rockland Community Against Hunger (RCAH) Launches Redesigned Website Developed by Rockland BOCES Hudson Valley P-TECH Students

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(Piermont, New York) July 22, 2021 — The students of Rockland BOCES Hudson Valley P-TECH, in association with Rockland Community Against Hunger (RCAH), are proud to announce the launch of a redesigned website, www.rocklandhunger.org, which is a vital resource for information regarding food pantries and meal programs and other resources for people with food insecurities.

The website provides information to people interested in finding food pantries and meal programs, as well as those wishing to donate, find volunteer opportunities, or look for other nutrition related resources. New functionality now allows people to search by name, town, zip code, or even day of the week to find a local pantry. The www.rocklandhunger.org website was developed by a group of high school students at Hudson Valley P-TECH for RCAH, a collaboration of food pantries and meal programs and County agencies working together to ensure that no one in Rockland County goes hungry. RCAH is led by TOUCH, BRIDGES, Meals on Wheels, Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center, and the Rockland Department of Health. Since 2011, RCAH has provided millions of pounds of food to all Rockland food pantries and meal programs while improving knowledge, networking among the pantries and creating a true “community” where we are addressing hunger.

Anita Dreichler, Coordinator for RCAH, came to P-TECH with the objective of modernizing the old website. “The RCAH website was developed 10 years ago and is a significant resource for people who are looking for healthy food. It was outdated and crowded with information making it difficult to use. During the COVID19 pandemic, we have been getting more than 600 hits per week on the website, mostly to search for local pantries. Many people going to food pantries either walk or rely on public transportation. Therefore, it is critical that information about food pantries and other nutrition related resources in their neighborhood be easy to locate.”

Michelle Kleinman, Public Health Nutritionist, Rockland County Dept of Health adds, “Needing assistance and finding the right place to go can be an obstacle for many people in the community. Rockland Community Against Hunger’s new website helps to create access by removing some of the barriers and providing some dignity. Residents, students of all ages, community groups and businesses have also used the website to help RCAH by providing their time through volunteer opportunities and monetary donations. This website is more than a place to find a meal program, you’ll find a ‘community’ of resources and truly caring programs.”

Susannah Devine, Co-Founder of Devine Design, worked with the students to teach them how to design a usablevand functional website, and how to utilize the tools to build it, such as WordPress. The students split up the work into different sections including designing a logo, defining menu structures, choosing colors and fonts, designing each page of the website to more effectively present the information from the old website, implementing a search tool to find food pantries, and writing a press release.

According to Dan Kaplan, Principal of Rockland BOCES Hudson Valley P-TECH, “The PTECH students have done an amazing job on this project. Working with their teacher, Aliki Hatzis, and RCAH, they have tackled a real-world issue and this website will have a lasting and positive impact on the daily lives of people with food insecurities. It’s a key part of P-TECH’s mission to involve our students in real-world issues and problems and develop projects that address those issues and find solutions. I am so proud of our students for their interest in and commitment to such an important project.”

For more information, go to www.rocklandhunger.org.

COVID-19 DELTA VARIANT CONFIRMED IN ROCKLAND

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Get Vaccinated: Protect yourself and others from the highly contagious Delta variant

NEW CITY, NY, – Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert urge unvaccinated residents to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible.

COVID-19 continues to spread in the United States and constantly changes through mutation, with new virus variants expected to occur. Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented in the United States and globally during this pandemic.

At least four cases of the highly contagious Delta (B.1.617.2) variant were confirmed to be in our community during the second week of July. Cases and the positivity rate in Rockland have increased over the last several weeks, likely due to the Delta variant.

Classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a variant of concern, the Delta variant, initially detected in India and first detected in the United States in March 2021, is now the dominant form of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. This variant seems to spread more easily and quickly than other strains, leading to more cases of COVID-19. The Delta variant also impacts younger age groups more than previous strains, as more young people are getting sick and hospitalized with COVID-19. An increase in the number of cases will lead to more hospitalizations and potentially more deaths.

“All COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use in the United States have proven extremely safe and effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19, including against variants of concern such as Delta. The antibody responses generated from the vaccine are much stronger and more consistent than immunity after a natural COVID-19 infection, making it even more important to get a vaccine, even if you’ve already had COVID-19,” said County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert.

Nearly all recent COVID deaths have been in unvaccinated individuals. The CDC is now calling the COVID-19 pandemic a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Those who are unvaccinated and not practicing public health measures such as wearing a mask indoors, staying at least 6 feet apart, and avoiding crowds, have the greatest risk of becoming seriously ill or dying, which is why the Rockland County Department of Health (RCDOH) urges all eligible individuals to get vaccinated as soon as they are able.

“With recent COVID deaths and hospitalizations nationwide made up almost entirely of those who are unvaccinated, I strongly urge those who have not yet gotten the shot to reconsider and do so now. These numbers are compelling, and we must act to protect ourselves, our family and our entire community from further harm,” said County Executive Ed Day.

If you’re already vaccinated, please talk to your unvaccinated friends or family about the dangers of the Delta variant and the importance of getting vaccinated before it’s too late. Anyone with questions or concerns about the vaccines should talk to their doctor.

To get a vaccine, visit the RCDOH COVID-19 webpage for more information at http://rcklnd.us/covid19. To find a vaccine near you, visit Vaccines.gov and the New York State Am I Eligible webpage. Need assistance, call the Rockland County COVID Call Center at 845-238-1956 from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Friday (except holidays).

For more COVID-19 vaccine information, visit the CDC’s Myths and Facts at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html. 

CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH SPECIAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS PROGRAM

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A referral services for health and related areas for families of CYSHCN

NEW CITY, NY, – Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert remind Rockland County residents about the Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) Program, which aims to connect families to support networks that understand the challenges of caring for children and youth with special health care needs.

A CYSHCN program specialist is available to assist families with children from birth to twenty-one (21) years of age that have a chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition and requires health and related services beyond that generally required by children, make connections to available resources using various sources to make these connections such as the NYS Multiple Navigation System.

A few examples of conditions include intellectual disability, substance abuse disorder, autism or ASD, cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy, arthritis, allergies, asthma, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, heart conditions, diabetes, depression, conduct disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, cystic fibrosis, head injury, Tourette syndrome, blood disorders, epilepsy, and vision or hearing problems. For more information about qualifying conditions, contact a Rockland County Department of Health CYSHCN specialist to complete an assessment.

“Through the coordination and delivery of medical, educational, and related services, CYSHCN can help provide the referrals needed to meet the needs of children and families, thus enhancing the child’s quality of life,” said Dr. Ruppert.

“Help is available! Specialists in our Department of Health are here to inform and connect your family with all kinds of available resources,” said County Executive Day.

For more information, contact Nancy Haggerty at (845) 364-3394 or haggertn@co.rockland.ny.us or visit http://bit.ly/CYSHCN-Rockland. 

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