The senior staff member for the Division for Community Health (DCH) is the Director of Patient Services.

Highlights of DCH achievements for 2005 include:

• 42 nursing, nutrition, therapy, planning and support staff served newborns, adolescents, college students, pregnant women, workers in a variety of professions and the elderly in diverse settings such as schools, community agencies, worksites, libraries, malls, health fairs, clinics and in private homes throughout the county. 7 Per-Diem registered nurses and 6 contract therapists also supported division work.
• 17,499 telephone calls fielded by Division staff: 1,912 Communicable Disease, 2,709 Influenza, 1,399 Immunization, 2,250 Chronic Disease, Wellness and General Health and 9,229 Client Care Coordination calls.
• 294 people attended twelve community outreach events sponsored by the Health Promotion staff.
• 75% of women WIC participants initiated breast-feeding comparing favorably to the Syracuse Regional 56% average and New York State 68% average.
• 39% of WIC adults and children aged 2 and over chose 1% or fat-free milk surpassing 27% in the Syracuse region.
• 5,643 WIC records were audited dating back to 1999, 97% of the records were located. Of these, 92% were found with appropriate documentation and actions. The state accepted the audit findings and the audit was closed.
• 331 persons tested for HIV, a 21% increase from 2005 and a 122% increase from 2004 due to the introduction of walk-in clinics and use of the Rapid HIV test at the anonymous HIV testing and counseling clinics.
• 7 to 8 out of 10 quality home health care indicators met or surpassed state and national measures on Medicare's Home Health Compare reports.
• 200+ emergency response workers and municipal workers were vaccinated for seasonal influenza at the December 5 FLU Point Of Dispensing (POD) exercise.
• 435 individuals identified with Latent Tuberculosis Infection through a new collaborative screening effort between Cornell University's Gannett Health Services and the MCU nurse responsible for TB management and surveillance.
• 94% Home Health Care clients and families expressed satisfaction with their care.
• 23.7% Acute Care Hospitalization rate for home health care clients compared to the 28.4% state and 40.2% national rates.
• 18 out of 181 highest ranking by Medicare's Island Peer Review Organization among other New York State certified home health agencies for maintaining low acute care hospitalization rates.
• 1,278 continuing education hours achieved by CHS Division staff.
• 7 state and federal grants supplemented the HPP and MCU program budgets facilitating prevention, education and outreach related to diabetes, tobacco use and control, immunizations, the Central New York Immunization Registry, HIV anonymous counseling and testing and lead poisoning.

(Highlights from the TC Health Department 2006 Annual Report.)