2024 Dr. Harold Keltz Distinguished Public Health Service Award Winner: David Raizen
David Raizen, the longtime president of Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps, is the recipient of the Dr. Harold Keltz Distinguished Public Health Service Award.
Mr. Raizen became president in the early 1980s and has served as either president or chairman of the board since that time. He first joined the ambulance corps in 1977, and has been its driving force for the past 45 years. Mr. Raizen became an EMT and then a paramedic, and has led and directed every new initiative the ambulance corps has taken on.
Mr. Raizen worked with Scarsdale Village to identify a centrally located empty property at 5 Weaver Street where a new ambulance corps headquarters could be situated. He led a successful fundraising drive that enabled construction without tax dollars of a building with two ambulance bays, sleeping quarters for 10, an oxygen filling station, kitchen, squad room and training center.
SVAC offers a NYS certified EMT class to Scarsdale High School students, along with training classes for professional rescuers and the public, including CPR and Stop the Bleed classes for community groups, individuals and school staff.
Under Mr. Raizen’s direction, SVAC has launched a pilot community paramedicine program, in which paramedics and EMTs make home visits to residents who have recently been discharged from White Plains Hospital. Paramedics can draw blood for labs, provide fluids and treat patients with pneumonia and diabetes, to help reduce hospital readmissions. This work is being done under the auspices of a new Community Paramedicine state law passed last summer, which allows paramedics to continue providing these services for two years. SVAC is one of more than 50 agencies participating in the program. The program expands on the work that SVAC paramedics did during the COVID-19 pandemic, under the Governor’s executive order, when they vaccinated and tested thousands of homebound, frail and immunocompromised residents in their homes. In total, SVAC provided more than 22,000 COVID PCR tests and vaccinations to residents of Westchester.
The Dr. Harold Keltz Distinguished Public Health Service Award is presented to an individual or organization exemplifying the highest level of commitment and distinguished public health service to our community. The award is named for Dr. Keltz, a pulmonologist who devoted his career to the compassionate care of Tuberculosis patients in Westchester. As a tribute to his commitment to service, the board named this award for Dr. Keltz after his passing.
2024 J.R. Tesone Youth Public Health Service Award Winner: Ashley Madden
Ashley Madden is a Pleasantville High School senior who has become a fierce advocate for the prevention, treatment and allocation of resources to help people who have both a mental health challenge and an addiction, known as co-occurring disorders.
In 2019, Ashley learned about the Harris Project, Inc., a Westchester non-profit that provides prevention programming and advocates for improved services for people with co-occurring disorders. She quickly became passionate about helping. Starting in eighth grade, she met with school administrators, scheduled presentations and events and added CODA to the conversation in her middle and high school.
Ashley was a leader at the first Virtual CODA Youth Advocacy Night in October 2020, and delivered testimony to the New York State Office of Mental Health and Office of Addiction Services and Supports at their 2020 listening sessions. She has advocated for increased resources for Co-Occurring Disorders and mental health services with numerous state legislators. During a Virtual CODA Youth Summit in April 2021, Ashley presented on advocacy and education to hundreds of students throughout Westchester and has served as a youth leader for the past several years. Through a science research program at her high school, Ashley researched and wrote a scholarly paper on this topic.
This award honors the memory of J.R. Tesone, a Westchester County Board of Health member who died in 2014. J.R. Tesone devoted his life to making summers safe and fun for hundreds of children. He found his calling as a camp counselor and later became the dedicated owner and director of Breezemont Day Camp in Armonk.
2024 Commissioner’s Award to Emil Nigro, MD, FACEP
Emil Nigro, MD, FACEP, is the 2024 recipient of the Commissioner’s Award.
Dr. Nigro is being recognized for his dedication to emergency medicine and the training of emergency service workers throughout Westchester and beyond.
After graduating from Fordham University College of Pharmacy, Dr. Nigro taught high school biology and other sciences in Manhattan while working as a part-time pharmacist before attending medical school. Following a residency in internal medicine at Westchester Medical Center, Dr. Nigro joined Phelps Hospital as an Emergency Medicine Physician in 1979. He served as medical director of the Emergency Department at Phelps from 1984 until 2017.
While directing the Emergency Department, Dr. Nigro recognized that emergency responders needed further education and training. With funding and support from the Hoch family, Dr. Nigro was the driving force behind the design and construction of the new Phelps Hospital Emergency Department and the Hoch Center for Emergency Education, which opened in 2008. Each year, the Hoch Center trains hundreds of clinicians, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, firefighters and police officers in first aid, CPR, advanced emergency medicine and other lifesaving techniques. The Center served as an international model, and hosted visitors from Bhutan, Japan, Australia and China, who were interested in its training methods. During the pandemic, the Center tested and vaccinated thousands of residents, especially homebound seniors.
In 2018, he was elected chairman of the Phelps Medical Board and President of its Medical Staff, and he served in those roles until this year. Dr. Nigro currently serves as the medical director of the Hoch Center for Emergency Education at Phelps Hospital Northwell Health in Sleepy Hollow.
If you need assistance outside of business hours, consult the documents or call the hotline phone numbers listed below.
Physician's can report suspected or confirmed communicable diseases by calling:
(914) 813-5159 during regular business hours
(914) 813-5000 outside of regular business hours
For general information and 24-hour, seven-day-a-week public health emergencies call:
(914) 813-5000.
Animal Contact
- Catching a bat. Download and Watch this 80-second video prepared by the New York State Department of Health on the proper technique for safely capturing a bat found in a home.
- List of licensed registered trappers
- NYSDOH 2024 Guidance Regarding Human Exposure to Rabies and Postexposure Prophylaxis Decisions
- Rabies Post Exposure Prophylaxis Algorithm for Medical Providers (Updated 9/2024)
- Report of animal bite, scratch and contact form (fillable pdf)
- Hospital/Health Care Provider Rabies PEP Report Form (Updated 8/2024)
- Rabies Biological Administration Record
- CDC Updates on Vaccine and Immune Globulin Availability
Building Departments by Municipality
Complaint Fillable Forms - Administrator on-call
(Fill out the forms and print or save as a pdf, don't forget to rename the pdf doc.)
- General Overnight Complaint Fillable Form 2014
- Overnight Report of Animal Bite, Scratch or Contact fillable form
- After Hours Spill Incident Report Form Fillable (OEHRC)
Disease Control
- WCDOH Communicable Disease Reporting Requirements (Updated 1/2024)
Mercury and Chemical Spills
- Health care providers – For medical questions and consultation on managing patients who have been exposed to a chemical, such as mercury, or have ingested a chemical or poison, contact the Poison Control Center.
- Members of the public – If you have been exposed to a chemical or poison, seek immediate medical attention.
- Poison Control Center's 24/7 hotline: (800) 222-1222
- Visit the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, a federal public health agency, for useful information about toxic substances.
The Westchester County Department of Health is a community of professional public health workers who help you and your family enjoy better health. We protect and promote the health of the public through prevention, prolonging meaningful life and providing leadership in health crises.
What is Public Health? (WCDOH Youtube video)
Beverley Chang, PA-C, MPH
Date Appointed: July 15, 2024
Term Expires: December 31, 2029
Peekskill Representative
Beverley Chang joined the Board of Health in July 2024 as a representative of Peekskill. A Physician Assistant for the past twenty years, Ms. Chang has been employed since 2005 at New York Health and Hospitals Kings County in Brooklyn, where the majority of her experience has been in critical care.
Ms. Chang is a member of the Peekskill NAACP, where she has chaired the Health Committee since 2021. Through this role, she has developed relationships and collaborated with key community organizations and partners to educate, inform, and promote health prevention and improvement for Peekskill area residents. Under her leadership, the health committee has received grant funding from the NYSDOH to address Covid-19 health disparities.
For this work to promote public health through the Peekskill NAACP, the Westchester County Board of Health awarded Ms. Chang the Dr. Harold Keltz Distinguished Public Health Service Award in March 2023.
Ms. Chang has continuously maintained certification as a practicing Physician Assistant (PA-C). She is an active member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA); the New York State Society of Physician Assistants (NYSSPA); and the New York Public Health Association (NYPHA).
A member of the Westchester Black Women’s Political Caucus, Inc. Greater Peekskill Area Chapter, since 2022, Ms. Chang currently serves as its vice president. She was selected as a Her Honor mentor for the 2024-2025 year. Ms. Chang has volunteered with the NYC Medical Reserve Corps; Volunteer New York; and New York Cares.
Ms. Chang graduated as a Physician Assistant and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY Downstate College of Health Professions in 2004. In 2019, she earned a Master’s in Public Health degree with a concentration in Community Health Sciences from SUNY Downstate School of Public Health. She is the mother of two adult children and a resident of Peekskill, where has lived with her partner since 2017, after relocating from Brooklyn.