PHHPC MEETING: The Public Health and Health Planning Council’s committee on establishment and project review, which evaluates certificate-of-need applications for health construction plans and sales, will meet at 10 a.m. at the state Health Department’s offices in New York City today. Tune into the meeting here.
BIRD FLU: Bird flu has been detected on a commercial duck farm in Suffolk County, officials said Tuesday. State health officials have launched an investigation to determine whether the H5N1 outbreak – which has affected more than 100,000 birds – has spread to workers, but emphasized that the risk to the public remains low as there are no human cases in New York. The state has identified cases of H5N1 a few times since 2022, but the recent outbreak comes as the virus has spread to 67 people and caused one death in the U.S.
MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE: A coalition of social workers is calling on the state legislature to pass a bill to eliminate a social work licensing exam they say contributes to racial and language gaps within New York’s mental health workforce. Nonprofit groups including NAMI-NYC and the National Association of Social Workers rallied at the state Capitol in Albany on Wednesday for the passage of the Social Work Workforce Act, which would eliminate a standardized social work board exam in hopes of helping more people of color, non-native English speakers and older individuals get certified. The bill is sponsored by Queens Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas and Rochester Sen. Samra Brouk, who chairs the mental health committee.
