Harrison County Health Department
Phone: (660) 425-6324
Fax: (660) 425-7642
Mike O'Neal, Administrator
E-mail: onealm@lpha.dhss.mo.gov
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Harrison County Health Department Newsletter
IN THIS ISSUE:
Smoking
Vaccination
Update
Emergency Planning
Health Education
All Day Staff Training
Blood
Pressure Clinics
Meet Our Staff
Public Health's 10 Essential Services
New Employees
Lead Poisoning
Risky Behavior
Did you know that Harrison Count contains a higher percentage of smokers per capita that the State of Missouri does; and that Missourian smoke at one of the highest rates in the United States?!
Not a good
Statistic is it?
Mike O'Neal
Administrator
Vaccination Update
New for
the 2005-2006 school is the requirement of varicella (chicken pox)
vaccination for kindergarteners. Proof of month and year of actual disease
will be acceptable for kindergarten also. Some children get severely ill
with chicken pox and approximately 100 children die each year in the United
States.
Pertussis (whopping cough) outbreaks have been occurring the past several years. Adolescence and adults have waning immunity as the last pertussis immunization is at preschool age. Pertussis is very dangerous to babies and younger children who haven’t had immunizations or aren’t fully immunized. Plans are in the making for a pertussis boaster along with the tetanis booster at 11-12 years old.
The Harrison County Health Department will offer Meningococcal vaccine (meningitis) to county seniors who are going on to college. For more information call us at 425-6324.
Carolyn Queen, RN
Emergency Planning
Emergency planning is an on-going effort. Monthly meetings have been held with 8 other counties in an effort to complete our Local Public Health Agency Emergency Response Plans, in cooperation with regional response planners. We have also been working with other county emergency response personnel to maintain communication and coordination in emergency response. A Harrison County tabletop exercise is planned for April involving the health department and county emergency responders.
Mike O’Neal
Administrator
Back to Top
The Harrison County Health Department looks to step up its efforts on Community Health Education in the very near future. If you have an idea or need, concerning health education please make it known to the Administrator.
Look for more information soon!
Mike O’Neal
Administrator
All Day Staff Training
As all
organizations know, staff training is an important part of keeping any
business effective and efficient. The Harrison County Health Department
closes one day each quarter in an effort to make the training more beneficial
to ALL staff. It is the only way to get all staff to attend without
interruptions. This is a new method of getting our training done and has
worked very well thus far.
Mike O’Neal
Administrator
Back to Top
The Harrison County Health department is a local public health agency funded partially by your tax dollars. We also receive State and Federal dollars to provide direct public health services, assessment, disease control, and to address populations specific health concerns.
Your health department performs the following services and duties:
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WIC (Women, Infants, & Children)
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Children's Immunizations
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Well-Child Clinic
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Lead Testing
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Adult Immunizations including Flu Shots
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Vital Records
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Blood Pressure Screenings
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Blood Sugar & Cholesterol Screenings
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Pregnancy Testing
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TB Testing
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School Health Services
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Health Educations Programs
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Breastfeeding Classes
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Prenatal Case Management
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Temporary Medicaid
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MC+ Applications
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Communicalbe Disease Surveillance & Investigation
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Assessment of Local Health Status
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Local Emergency Planning & Response
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Sewage Permits
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Private Water Testing
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Licensed Daycare Inspections
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Food Service Inspections for: Restaurants & Taverns, Grocery Stores, and School Cafeterias
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Lodging Inspections
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Food handling Classes
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Home Health
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Hospice
Meet Our Staff
Employees :
Mike O'Neal, Administrator
Rhonda Stuart, Home Health/ Hospice Director
Carolyn Queen, RN
Donna Stevenson, RN
Doris Harryman, RN
Fred Lindsey, RN
Judy Ellis, RN
Christine Rucker, LPN
Lisa Smith, BSW, Hospice Social Worker
Paula Ragan, Office Manager
Sharon Miles, Home Health/ Hospice Billing
Julie Dannar, WIC Coordinator/Clerk
Joann Hillyard, CNA
Cheryl Toombs, CNA
Chris Stiens, Environmental Public Health Specialist
Sarah Lammers, Nutritionist
Gina Meyers, Harrison Co. Hospice Social Worker
Ashlee Gryder, In-Home Services Certified Nurses Aide
Board of Trustees
Robert Harryman
Rhonda Price
Linda Robertson
Debora Sherer
Rhonda McCoy
The core public health functions are the fundamental responsibilities of Missouri's public health system. The system is made up of the CDC, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and local public health agencies, such as the Harrison County Health Department. The core public health functions are defined as these ten essential services :
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Monitor health status to identify and solve community health problems.
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Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community.
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Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues.
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Mobilize community partnerships and actions to identify and solve health problems.
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Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts.
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Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety.
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Link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable.
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Assure a competent public and personal health care workforce.
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Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility and quality of personal and population based health services.
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Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems
PUBLIC HEALTH MAKES LIFE BETTER HERE IN HARRISON COUNTY !
CORE PUBLIC HEALTH
The Harrison County Health Department works to protect the health and safety of 8,850 Harrison County residents. Core public health functions that we perform for our county include:
- Restaurant inspection (which includes school cafeterias, senior citizens centers, grocery stores, and events such as fairs and festivals); all eating establishments are inspected to guarantee safer food is served to our county's residents and visitors.
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Private water testing: for residents that do not have access to rural water, well testing is necessary to ensure safe drinking water.
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Communicable disease surveillance; long before September 11 local health departments were conducting disease surveillance to look for trends or possible out breaks. The existing infrastructure of surveillance sites enables us to deal with new threats to public health that may come from terrorism or from new illnesses like SARS or West Nile Virus.
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Communicable disease investigation and follow-up; when someone that lives in our county is diagnosed with a communicable disease, such as Hepatitis A, it is the responsibility of the health department to determine how the illness was contracted and follow-up with the patient to assure the illness is not passed to others and an outbreak is avoided;
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Analysis and dissemination of health risk data; local health departments collect and analyze data on the populations they serve to determine what health risks, such as cardiovascular disease, significantly impact our residents.
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Preparation of public policy inventory; this measure will require the health departments to prepare an inventory of the existing public policies and environmental barriers and identify ways to improve health risks through creating effective public policy and reducing environmental barriers.
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Local emergency response planning; health departments are an important partner in local emergency response, our ongoing disease surveillance may be the only way an outbreak is detected. In a natural disaster local health agencies may be called upon to administer vaccine, inspect water, or guarantee food safety for displaced residents.
The "Core Function" contract ensures continued training for our staff members, enabling us to respond quickly to new challenges, such as SARS and West Nile Virus. Since September 11, public health departments including ours in Harrison County have assumed extra duties to protect our citizens in the event of a terrorist attack, all without additional funding. We take these duties seriously; we are proud of the "unseen" services that we provide to our residents.
Mike O'Neal
Administrator
The Harrison County Health Department has hired two new employees to it’s staff. Gina Myers, of Bethany, is Harrison County Hospice’s new Social Worker. Gina earned her Bachelor’s of Social Work in 1989 from Missouri Western State College of St Joseph, Mo. Gina will be assisting clients and their families with personal and environmental difficulties, providing emotional support, bereavement services, coordinating volunteers, as well as many other responsibilities.
Welcome Gina !
Ashlee Gryder has also joined our staff. Ashlee is a certified nurses aide, and will be a part-time employee for our In-Home Services program. Her job duties will include personal cares and home chores. Ashlee will also be assisting in the Health Department’s monthly Well-Child Clinic.
Welcome Ashlee !
One of the services provided by Hospice is Spiritual care. Since 1997, Brother Randy Comer has served as Hospice chaplain, and recently decided to move to a new location. Chris Ward from Gilman City has elected to replace Brother Randy, and will be training for hospice starting the week of 3-21-05. Brother Ron Smith, will continue serving as a hospice chaplain as well.
Consider this...In Harrison County, 60 % of housing was built before 1960, 40 % before 1039! Lead-based paint was still used until 1978 when it was banned by the federal government. Consider also...In Harrison County, only 3 % of children 1-6 years of age were tested for lead in 2000. That number jumped to 8 % in 2001 but still fell short of the state average of 14%. In 2002, almost 18 % were tested,. Latest data says 22 % were tested while the statewide rate was 17 %.
Quite an improvement !!
The percent of older housing in the area and the amount of screening already done (or not done) would indicate a risk of lead poisoning. The good news is that lead risk assessment and testing is simple. It can be done with your health care provider or at the health department. At the health department simple blot tests have been obtained which are much easier on the child. This assessment/testing is for children 1-6 years old and is free of charge at the health department. Our goal is to continue increasing the number of children tested for lead in Harrison County.
Mike O’Neal Administrator
Teen pregnancy is on the decrease in the state of Missouri and in Harrison County. This is good news! In both 2000 and 2001, there were 11 events of pregnancy of teens aged 15-17. The number 11 is nearly 6 % of that group in this country! The year 2002 saw that number drop to 10, 2003 looked even better with 5. And better yet, 2004 saw only 3!! Good news, but we can still do better.
Early sexual activity is more risky today than it used to be. In 1960 there were 2 STDs, today there are over 27. In the 1970’s one teen in 47 contracted a STD. Today, that figure is one in four. And the STDs are more dangerous. Abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy and STDs. Today’s parents not only need to talk to their kids about sex, they need to listen to them. Our community as a whole— clubs, groups, churches, schools, everyone—needs to support our kids and promote abstinence. Let our kids know that risky behavior is NOT normal.