Back in the Day April 1, 1921

A county nurse was hired at $125 per month.

January 9, 1981

The W.I.C. Program for Fair-field County was approved. Acceptance of clients began on February 6, 1981.

FDH Health Matters

Winter/Spring 2015

The Fairfield Department of Health (FDH)

Nursing Division - Protecting Public Health One Person at a Time

Immunization clinics are held at the Health Department by appointment. Immunization late clinics are held the first and third Tuesday of each month by appointment.

Regular events: Board of Health meetings

are held the second Wednes-day of each month at 3:00 p.m. at the Health Depart-ment facility.

District Advisory Council meets on January 26, 2015, at 7:00 p.m., and again on March 2, 2015, at 7:00 p.m., at the Fairfield County Courthouse.

Environmental Review Com-mittee (ERC) is a public forum for discussing issues regarding Environmental Programs - ERC meetings are held monthly at the Health Department begin-ning at 9:00 a.m.

Nursing Services Fairfield Department of Health public health nurses serve the commu-nity in many ways. Fol-lowing are the various programs they provide: Bureau for Children with Medical Handi-caps (BCMH): The BCMH program is a health care program through the Ohio De-partment of Health (ODH). It links families of children with special health care needs to a network of quality providers and helps families obtain payment for the services their chil-dren need. The public health nurse assists families in coordinating and obtaining care for their children on the BCMH program. Help Me Grow Services: The Fairfield County Help Me Grow (HMG) program contracts with the health department to provide developmental evaluation services to children within Fair-field County. The public health nurse works closely with HMG to ensure that families receive the evaluation services according to state mandates. Travel Immunizations: Each year, more Fairfield County residents travel outside the United States. By providing immunizations to travelers, your health department helps our residents to keep healthy while traveling and helps prevent potential disease outbreaks travelers could bring into the county. The Fairfield Department of Health is a U.S.-certified Yellow Fever vaccine provider, and nursing staff have been CDC-trained in providing the vaccine and in educating travelers.

Issue 2

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Infectious Disease Investigation and Control Program: The Ohio Revised Code (O.R.C.) requires that all health care providers and laboratories report specific infectious diseases to their local health departments in an effort to protect the com-munity from disease outbreaks. Public health nurses ensure proper investigation, education, and follow-up on all mandated reportable diseases. Perinatal Hepatitis B Program: The Perinatal Hepatitis B Program is designed to help prevent exposure of newborns to maternal Hepatitis B virus during delivery. The transmission of peri-natal Hepatitis B infection can be prevented in about 95% of cases. Child Fatality Review Board: The purpose of the Child Fatality Review (CFR) Board is to reduce the incidence of preventable child deaths within Fairfield County. The O.R.C. 307.621 mandates counties to participate in a CFR process and to review all deaths of children under 18 years of age, from all causes. All children’s deaths are investigated and reported by the public health nurses. Tuberculosis (TB) Case Management: The Health Department is the appointed TB Unit for the county as required by law. Public health nurses provide county residents with TB screenings for work, school, or after contact with a person with TB. Nurses also provide case management for all active TB cases in the county. Child and Family Health Service (CFHS): Using CFHS grant funds provided by ODH, the public health nursing divi-sion implements a community health assessment and planning process. This is an ongoing process of identifying and analyzing a community’s health problems, needs and assets, as well as its resources and capacity to address priority needs. Children’s Immunization Clinics: Available to all Fairfield County children from birth through age 18, the goal of this clinic is to protect children from preventable childhood illness. The clinic obtains the majority of the vaccines for children from ODH at a reduced cost. This enables the clinic to offer vaccines to all children, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. This clinic is by ap-pointment only. Flu Clinics: Each year, the Health Department provides seasonal flu immunizations at various sites and for shut-ins throughout the county, helping to ensure that those who might have difficulty obtaining a flu shot can receive one. Immunization Action Plan Program: This ODH grant is designed to raise and maintain infant immunization rates in Fairfield County, primarily through immunization assessment and education activities and secondarily through reminder and recall efforts. Through grant funds, a public health nurse is able to provide local health care providers with vaccine and immuniza-tion education and to assist them in assessing their immunization rates within their office.

The Public Health Nursing staff is here to serve residents in Fairfield County. Please feel free to call them with any questions or concerns, at (740) 652-2800. Gwen Shafer, RN, BSN - Nursing Director

Nursing (cont. from page 1)

“Hand washing is like a ‘do-it-yourself’ vaccine—it involves five simple steps (think Wet, Lather, Scrub, Rinse, Dry). Clean hands save lives.” -CDC

We’re on the Web!

www.myfdh.org

Prevent • Protect • Promote

1550 Sheridan Drive, Suite 100 Lancaster, Ohio 43130

Phone: 740-652-2800 Fax: 740-653-6626 Coming Soon: Facebook

F a i r f i e ld D e p a r tm en t o f H ea l th

Dr. Mark Abei, Health Commissioner Larry Hanna, Administrator

March is National Nutrition Month The theme for National Nutrition Month is “Bite Into a Healthy Life-style.” The theme encourages every-one to adopt eating and physical activity plans that are focused on

consuming fewer calories, making healthy food choices and getting daily exercise in order to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and promote overall health. The WIC division would like to challenge all employees to slow down and know when you’ve had enough to eat. Quit eating before you feel full or “stuffed.” It takes your brain 20 minutes to recognize the food you have eaten… Once your brain recognizes the food you won’t feel hungry anymore.

EBT Coming The Ohio WIC Nutrition Card is coming to Fairfield Coun-ty. The Ohio WIC program is implementing the use of EBT (electronic benefits transfer). This will replace the paper coupons that participants currently use. With EBT, WIC participants use a “smartcard” containing a microchip, on-to which WIC benefits have been loaded for making pur-chases. We will be making this transition in March. 2015.

A hearty, nutritious meal for the winter months! INGREDIENTS: 4 potatoes, baked, cooled & cubed (leave the skin on) 4 TBS margarine 4 TBS flour 6 cups skim milk ¼ cup finely chopped onion ½ cup shredded carrots ½ cup finely chopped ham 1 chicken bouillon cube ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese DIRECTIONS: Melt margarine in large soup pan. Stir in flour, stir until smooth. Add onions, carrots, ham, potatoes, & bouillon cube. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Add cheese & cook for 5 more minutes. Then, enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup

Women, Infants and Children Women, Infants and Children program is a nutrition and breastfeeding education program. WIC provides nutritious foods that promote good health for pregnant women, women who had a baby, breastfeeding moms, infants and children up to age 5. WIC provides nutrition and breastfeeding educa-tion and support, referral for health care, and immun-ization screening and referral. Eligibility Requirements Women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or have a baby under six months old, and infants and children up to five years old are eligible to apply for WIC. Qualifications Participants must live in Ohio, meet WIC income guidelines and have certain nutritional or health risks determined by a WIC Health Professional. Gwen Shafer, RN, BSN - Nursing Director Mary Smith, DTR, CLC - WIC Coordinator

WIC Program Offers Ed-ucation and Core Nutrition Care

The Pickerington WIC Satellite Clinic is held on Wednesdays and Fridays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at 11050 Tussing Rd., Pickerington (Fairfield County Government Services Building).

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