NORWICH – The Chenango County Department of Public Health is using newly awarded state grant funds to reach out to a local population affected by the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

The Department recently received a $13,000 performance incentive from the New York State Department of Health for meeting specific criteria in the health field. Local health officials are obligated to use that money for the purpose of STD prevention and outreach.

“This is the second year that the State Health Department has offered a performance incentive to local health departments,” explained Marcas Flindt, director of the Chenango County Department of Public Health.

A monetary incentive awarded to the County Health Department last year was earmarked for communicable disease prevention which tied into the local heroin epidemic. Local health officials used that money to launch the Chenango County Heroin Task Force, a band of community stakeholders bent on thwarting heroin use in the area.