Will any doctors take walk-in patients?

There are none in town. In Wilton, there is Wilton Medical Walk In Clinic (834-8885) at 35 Danbury Road. It’s open Monday through Friday from 9 to 5, Saturdays from 9 to 2, Sundays from 9 to 1, and holidays from 9 to 1. The last patient is seen one-half hour before closing.

In Norwalk, there’s Primary Medical Care (849-7777/pmcc-ohc.com) at 345 Main Avenue, open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, 9 to 5 on Saturday and Sunday. Call for hours on holidays.

Immediate Medical Care of Monroe (459-0191), 388 Main Street (Route 25) is affiliated with Bridgeport Hospital. To access information online, go to www.bridgeporthospital.org and click on Community Services, then Walk-in Medical Centers.

Are there CPR classes in town?

The town’s three fire departments offer courses periodically, as does the Parks and Recreation Department (938-2551). Often other groups will also offer a class, usually announced in The Redding Pilot. The Red Cross in Danbury (792-8200) has a schedule of classes including CPR and first aid at ctredcross.org/westernct/.

What services do visiting nurses offer?

The Danbury Visiting Nurse Association (792-4120) has home health aides, physical therapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists. The Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association (438-5555) offers professional and support services. Skilled caregivers include registered nurses, physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, medical social workers, dietitians, nutritionists, psychiatric nurses, and maternal/child health nurses. Nursing & Home Care, part of the Visiting Nurse/VNA Care Network, offers visiting nurses,; home health aides; physical, occupational, and speech therapists, live-in help, drivers, shoppers, homemakers, companions, dietitians, medical social workers, peer counselors, care managers, and respite services. Call 762-8958.

How can I arrange for home care?

The senior center (938-9725) can refer you to home health care workers. You may also call the Danbury Visiting Nurse Association (792-4120), the Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association (438-5555), the Visiting Nurse/VNA Care Network (800-898-4663) or have your physician or a friend call.

For those coming home from the hospital or a rehab facility, the hospital case manager or social worker can call a visiting nurse association to arrange home care.

Can I get help with household tasks while I’m recuperating from my illness?

Through Assisted Living @ Home (800-898-4663 ), a service of the Visiting Nurse/VNA Care Network in Wilton, people can get help with bathing, cleaning, cooking, dressing, driving and shopping, and running errands.

The Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association (438-5555) offers home health aides who assist in making meals and light housekeeping.

Does any organization check on people who live alone?

A list of names to be used if there is a need to contact doctors, relatives, etc. in case of emergency is kept with Gail Schiron, the town’s director of human services, and at the town’s Communications Center. Any resident 60 or older can be put on this list. Call 938-9725 for information about this program or the food pantry, which helps residents in need of emergency food.

Ms. Schiron (938-3580) can connect you with someone from the Volunteer Bureau of Greater Danbury (797-1154), which runs a Friendly Visitor program that establishes relationships between volunteers and people who live alone.

The Ridgefield Woman’s Club sponsors Are You OK?, which provides a daily phone check to Reddingites over 60 or those who are homebound or medically disabled. For details, call 438-6777.

The Danbury Visiting Nurse Association (792-4120) will check on residents who are homebound or medically disabled. The Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association’s (438-5555) Health Watch, and Lifeline, sponsored by the Red Cross in Danbury (792-8200), offer a pushbutton communicator to let volunteers know of an emergency.

Who provides hospice services to residents?

Hospice agencies provide care focusing on pain relief, symptom control and comfort for terminally ill patients and their families wherever they are most comfortable.

Serving Redding are Mid-Fairfield Hospice, a member of the Visiting Nurse/VNA Care Network (874-7646); Connecticut Hospice Inc. (857-5494) of Norwalk; and Regional Hospice of Western Connecticut (797-1685/danbury.org/hospice). Services cover medical, psychological, social, nutritional, and spiritual needs.

What help is available for the handicapped?

Gail Schiron, the town’s director of human services, at 938-9725, can provide information.

What pharmacies are in town?

The Redding Pharmacy (544-8306) in the Georgetown Business and Professional Center on Route 107, the only pharmacy in town, is open from 9 to 6 Monday through Friday, and Saturdays, 9 to 1. Three pharmacies in Ridgefield have Sunday hours: CVS (431-8888) open 8 to 6; Eckerd (438-7378), 9 to 6; and Bissell (438-6433) open 9 to 1. English Drug (744-0945) in Bethel is also open on Sunday.

There are two 24-hour pharmacies in Norwalk: CVS (847-2351), 235 Main Street; and Walgreen’s (845-0457), 55 Westport Avenue.

Who organizes blood drives? How can I give?

The Western Connecticut chapter of the American Red Cross (792-8200) organizes blood drives and always needs blood donors. Call to find out when and where a convenient bloodmobile will be. The Red Cross also needs volunteers to help run bloodmobiles.

A person must be 17 or older, weigh over 110 pounds, and be in good health to give blood. Many questions will be asked in order to ensure the donated blood will be safe. The entire process takes about an hour, including questions, donation, rest time, and snacks for the donor.

Is there a flu clinic in town? When is it?

The senior center offers flu shots to residents 60 years and older and handicapped people of any age. The clinics take place at the Redding Community Center in October. Call 938-9725 for more information.

The Danbury VNA (792-4120) and Ridgefield VNA (438-5555) also offer flu clinics in the fall.

What health-related support groups are there?

Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association has several support groups (breast cancer, Parkinson’s disease, bereavement,) that meet regularly at the VNA office at 90 East Ridge Road. Call 438-5555 for information. In addition, several other groups (Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Co-Dependents Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous) meet there as well.

The Renfrew Center of Southern Connecticut (834-5020) offers a free support group on Saturday mornings for people with eating disorders, and their family and friends.

Danbury Hospital has many support groups. Infoline at 211 has a list of statewide support groups and agencies that provide assistance.

The Connecticut Self-Help Network offers a Self-Help Directory of local and statewide support groups. Call 203-624-6982.

The Nutmeg Celiac Support Group assists those with Celiac Sprue adapt their dietary habits to this condition. The group meets on a regular basis. For information, call Edith Meffley at 438-6108.

You may also call Director of Social Services Gail Schiron (938-3580) for a referral or the Infoline at 211.

Is there a blood pressure screening in town?

Free blood pressure screenings take place the third Thursday of the month from 11 to noon, at the senior center in the Redding Community Center on Lonetown Road. No appointments are necessary. Call 938-9725 for more information.

Who is the town’s health officer?

Doug Hartline, Redding’s public health officer and a registered sanitarian, is responsible for managing all public health issues in town and ensuring compliance with state public health codes. This includes everything from inspecting swimming areas, restaurants’ kitchens, septic systems and wells, to making sure day-care systems meet state standards. He has been with the department for 13 years.

Dr. Lawrence Leibowitz, town director of health, supervises the health department, but works part-time. He is usually called only for major public health issues.

Where can I get help with alcoholism?

The Mid-Fairfield County Council on Alcoholism (MCCA) (792-4515/ mccaonline.com) has several inpatient and outpatient programs. It also offers assessment and referral services. Danbury has chapters of Alcoholics Anonymous (797-2305), Al-Anon (743-8967) for families, and Alateen (743-8967) for teenagers.

There are AA meetings in Redding and neighboring towns. For a list, call the Alcoholics Anonymous Help Line Central Office (855-0075) in Stamford or go online to ct-aa.org.

For more treatment information and referrals, call Infoline, 211.

What is the closest drug treatment center?

The Mid-Fairfield County Council on Alcoholism (mccaonline.com) offers residential and outpatient treatment. The Danbury number is 792-4515. There is also a Ridgefield office. That number is 438-8680.

Other sources of help are: Danbury Hospital Chemical Dependency Services (797-7640/adults; 830-6082/adolescents); Hall-Brooke Hospital in Westport (227-1251); Norwalk Hospital Addiction and Rehabilitation in Norwalk (852-2520); Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan (800-899-4455); and The Choices Clinic, Four Winds Hospital, Cross River, N.Y. (914-763-8151).

For more information about drug abuse and treatment centers, call Gail Schiron, the town’s director of human service, at 938-3580.

What type of help or counseling is available for the mentally ill and their families in the area?

The Community Center for Behavioral Health in Danbury (207-5480) offers assessment and evaluation, therapy, counseling, and medication monitoring.

The Visiting Nursing Association has a psychiatric nurse who is available to visit those who are ill at their homes. Call the VNA at 438-5555.

Family and Children’s Aid, 75 West Street, Danbury, offers a number of services including a mobile emergency psychiatric service with both over-the-phone crisis help and treatment workers who can travel to a person’s home or other location to manage psychiatric emergencies in children up to age 17. In a crisis, call 866-543-2774. For information, call 748-5689.

Family Center Services (852-2988) offers services in affiliation with Norwalk Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry.

New Heights, a program of Catholic Charities, is a psychosocial rehabilitation program for adults with mental illness. There is an office at 66 West Street in Danbury. For information, call 748-0819 or visit ccfc-ct.org and click on Community Mental Health Programs.

Mental health services are also available through these hospitals: Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan (800-899-4455); Four Winds Hospital in Cross River, N.Y. (914-763-8151); Hall Brooke Behavioral Health Services in Westport (203-227-1251); Danbury Hospital (797-7000); and Psychiatric Services at Yale, through Yale-New Haven Hospital (800-275-9253).

For more information call Gail Schiron, the town’s director of human services, at 938-3580.

Where can I get help for an eating disorder?

Danbury Hospital (797-7000) has an outpatient program as does Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan (800-899-4455).

The Renfrew Center of Southern Connecticut (834-5020/renfrew.org) at 436 Danbury Road in Wilton, offers an intensive outpatient program for young people and adults with eating disorders. The center also offers nutritional counseling and support groups for individuals (adults and adolescents), families, and couples.

Is there any help for victims of domestic violence?

The Women’s Center of Greater Danbury (731-5200) serves Redding with counseling, crisis intervention, support groups, workshops, and preventive programs. The center operates two 24-hour hotlines: 731-5204 for sexual assault, 731-5206 for domestic violence. The center can also direct women to a shelter.

Should I worry about Lyme disease?

Lyme disease, spread by ticks, is prevalent. Take precautions when going in the woods and fields. Use insect repellent, dress in light-colored clothing, roll pant cuffs into socks, wear long sleeves and a hat. Inspect pets and children daily. Insect repellents that contain DEET are quite effective against ticks. Follow the label instructions for use and application. Products containing 15% or less DEET are recommended for children, but products containing DEET should not be used on infants.

An eight- to 10-foot-wide peripheral strip of mulch and wood chips between lawns and woods can create a tick barrier. Tick larvae and nymphs cannot survive in the chip layer, reducing their proliferation.

If you notice a tick bite or any bite around which a redness forms in the shape of a bull’s eye target, or if you have flu-like symptoms, see a doctor immediately.

Another tickborne disease in this area is ehrlichiosis. Symptoms include fever, headache, chills malaise, muscle and joint pain, nausea, and vomiting. Acute weight loss, low platelet count, and a low white blood cell count can also occur.

Is there a Lyme disease support group nearby?

The Greater Danbury Lyme Disease Support Group meets the third Saturday of the month at the First Congregational Church in Bethel from 2 to 4 p.m. The group often has speakers, and it has a list of “Lyme-literate” doctors. For information, call 938-3681 or e-mail pibinquire@aol.com.

Adult and youth groups meet regularly at the Comstock Community Center in Wilton. For either group, call Yvonne at 762-2437 or e-mail kos1@earthlink.net.

Where can I get information on Lyme disease?

The following Web sites are recommended: ilads.org; columbia-lyme.org; cdc.gov; TheRidgefieldPress.com. Color pictures of several variations of the Lyme rash may be viewed at the Lyme Disease Foundation Web site: lyme.org. You may also call the health department at 938-2559.

What is rabies? How prevalent is it in this area?

Rabies is a problem in this area, and there have been instances of bites from rabid raccoons in Redding.

Rabies is a fatal disease caused by a virus that travels through the body to the brain via the nervous system. Once it reaches the brain, it causes encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, which results in neurological damage and cannot be treated. During the last 15 years, there has been an outbreak of rabies along the East Coast. Raccoons, skunks, and bats are the most common carriers of the rabies virus.

The best way to protect yourself is to not approach or handle wild animals (dead or alive) or strange pets and to keep your own pets vaccinated.

Should you come in contact with a possibly rabid animal, consult a doctor immediately and report the incident to the local health department and animal control officer. If possible, the animal should be captured for testing. The Veterinary Medical Association suggests trapping the animal under a large box, but cautions against trying to handle it. Because the testing procedure for rabies involves dissecting the brain, the animal must be killed in order to be tested.

Once symptoms appear, rabies is always fatal. However, prophylactic treatment in the form of a series of injections is available for people who have been exposed to the virus.

What is West Nile virus?

West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne infection that can cause encephalitis. Testing positive for West Nile virus this year were mosquitoes found in New Haven, West Haven, Bridgeport, Stratford, and Stamford.

Since mosquitoes can breed and reproduce in any stagnant water that lasts more than four days, people can best protect themselves by eliminating any such pools of stagnant water around their homes, such as birdbaths, old tires, kiddy pools, and clogged gutters. Minimize outdoor activities between dusk and dawn. Consider the use of mosquito repellent.

Viral encephalitis may not have any symptoms at all; mild cases may include a slight fever and/or headache. Severe infections are marked by a rapid onset of a high fever, head and body aches, and usually occur five to 15 days after exposure. There is no specific treatment for viral infections, other than to alleviate symptoms and provide supportive care. Those who may be most susceptible to encephalitis are infants, the elderly and people with damaged immune systems.

The town’s health department has a brochure with more information about the disease. Call the department at 938-2559.

Does the town have a mosquito control program?

The town participates in the state’s mosquito trap testing and bird surveillance programs (anyone who finds a dead crow is asked to call the health department to make arrangements so it can be tested). The town also hires a company to place larvicide around public grounds, schools, catchbasins and in road drainage ditches. The aim is to reduce the number of mosquitoes in these areas. The health department’s brochure on West Nile virus has more details on the town’s mosquito control program. Call 938-2559.

Where is smoking banned?

A state law bans smoking in all public buildings, schools, restaurants, bars, health care institutions, retail stores, elevators, and private businesses.

How often does the town inspect local restaurants for health code requirements?

State health codes requires restaurant inspections to be done four times a year. Inspections are also done when there is a major change or opening of a restaurant.

If you think you’ve become ill from eating food in a restaurant, call the Redding health department at 938-2559.

My child just ate some strange berries and is getting sick. Whom do I call?

Dial 800-222-1222. This national number will connect you with medical experts at a local poison control center. There is also a Web site, www.1-800-222-1222.info.

The poison control number at Danbury Hospital is 797-7300. At Norwalk Hospital, call 800-343-2722.

In an emergency, when fast medical assistance is required, dial 911 and tell the dispatcher what the problem is.