Health Center honored for 50 years of service BY JAY BODAS Staff Writer EDISON — Making it through last week’s E. coli outbreak was but one more milestone in the 50-year history of the township health center, which was recognized at a recent rededication ceremony. “We have doctors, nurses and other staff who work every day in the trenches,” said John Grun, township health department chair, at the Dec. 7 ceremony for the Dr. William Toth Memorial Health Center at 80 Idelwild Road. “They test and counsel people exposed and infected with HIV, provide immunization, and provide flu shots to our seniors.” Grun said that the center is also busy preparing for new and emerging health threats, such as West Nile virus and the possibility of a global influenza pandemic. “As much as you assume the electricity flows to your house, public health flows to your house with you knowing about it,” he said. The center was begun in 1956 after the township assumed control of the partially completed facility from a community group. In 1975 it was named after the late Dr. William Toth, a renowned cardiac surgeon and councilman. Mayor Jun Choi, who himself received a flu shot earlier that day, read aloud a letter written to the center’s staff by an 81-year-old Edison resident, Addy Rosenkoff, who regularly used the center’s services. “For the past 20 years, my husband and I needed a place to have our weekly blood pressure taken at the request of my cardiologist, as my husband had had a heart attack,” Rosenkoff wrote. “He left us nine years ago, but I continue to have my pressure taken,” she said. “We were welcomed here with an open heart. Please be proud of these nurses who helped me to deal emotionally with the stress of losing my husband of 42 years.” The center currently offers a variety of programs and services, including monthly immunizations and baby clinics for children up to 5 years old. Many of the programs are geared specifically for those who lack health insurance coverage. “For a five-dollar fee for Edison residents, the center also operates a walk-in clinic on Monday afternoons from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. to test people for sexually transmitted diseases, though HIV testing requires an appointment,” said 25-year staff member and registered nurse Darlene Valentini. “On Fridays we also do blood pressure testing, and sometimes people will come in to have that done and then to sit and talk, which is fine with us,” she said. “We also go out to the senior housing and do it for them there.” Residents with questions about the township health center’s services can call (732) 248-7282 for more information.