Editorial: Unit champions health

Talk about it

With an ever-increasing number of threats to personal health, ranging from ongoing food product recalls to the H1N1 influenza pandemic, public protection has been in the spotlight.

The Pierce County Public Health Department has issued its 2009 annual report, showing what efforts were taken in this regard locally last year. The department’s mission is multi-faceted and the report is an indication of how its staff has stepped forward to meet the challenges being posed.

Here’s a sampling of their response to what Director/Health Officer Sue Galoff states in the report was assurance “services were uninterrupted and program goals were met or exceeded”:

—Immunizations for children and adults. In 2009, public health nurses gave a total of 5,903 immunizations to 4,923 people.

—Disease control and prevention. In 2009, Pierce County disease control staff received 139 reports of communicable diseases. Additionally, 10 clients with latent and one active case of tuberculosis received 214 visits to deliver medications.

—Prenatal care coordination. A total of 178 women participated in this program and received 1,148 visits in 2009.

—Families First. A total of 87 new mothers received 212 Families First visits in 2009.

—Birth to Three. In 2009, 70 children were referred to the program. In addition, 46 received developmental screening and 43 were comprehensively evaluated to determine eligibility for the program. A total of 132 children received 1,963 visits.

—Children with special healthcare needs. In 2009, 40 visits were provided to 18 families in need of resources for children with health needs who contacted the department.

—WIC and nutrition. Pierce County Women, Infants and Children (WIC) served 1,154 unduplicated clients in 2009—an average of 675 clients per month. The nutrition staff provided 276 visits to 109 prenatal care coordination clients as well as individual nutrition consultation to nine other persons referred by public health programs.

—Oral health. In 2009, the Pierce County Dental Health Clinic experienced a significant increase in demand for services with 300 visits by children of low-income families and pregnant women.

—Reproductive health. A total of 1,738 clients received reproductive health services during 5,714 visits in 2009.

—Wisconsin Well Women Program. In 2009, the department provided services to 65 clients with 36 cancer screenings, which included 10 mammograms and 26 Pap tests.

—Home Care. Seventy-two percent of clients were discharged to home following home care services from July 2008-June 2009. The program served 67 county citizens in 2009 and a total of 4,073 visits were made.

—Injury prevention program. In 2009, 46 infant and child car seats were installed, 565 fourth grade students were introduced to farm safety issues and 703 sharps containers were distributed.

—Human health hazards. In 2009, the environmental health staff conducted 112 follow-up visits/contacts related to health hazard complaints.

—Water quality issues. Through a contract with the state Department of Natural Resources, 70 facilities qualifying as a transient non-community water source were tested and 16 wells inspected. Fifteen private wells were tested in the public health department’s Prenatal Care Coordination and New Baby programs.

—Food safety programs. A total of 197 licensed establishments were subjected to 241 inspections in 2009.

—Childhood lead testing. A total of 521 blood lead tests were done in 2009.

—Radon. Of the 93 county radon tests completed in 2009, 56 percent had results over the Environmental Protection Agency recommended action level.

—Tobacco control and prevention. In 2009, the county completed 81 tobacco compliance checks with no sales to minors.

These are just some of the actions taken by Pierce Public Health in the interest of protection and promotion last year. The department deserves congratulations for a job well done.

Tags: pierce county, opinion, editorials, health