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Welcome to the Daviess County Health Department!
Public health makes life better. We provide a wide variety of services, from home health visits to health issue counseling, from Immunization Clinics to Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings, from WIC Clinics to Well Baby Clinics -- and other services that may surprise you, such as restaurant inspections, bioterrorism and emergency planning, well water testing, on-site sewer appraisals and permitting, and communicable disease investigation and more. |
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Disclaimer and Nondiscrimination Statement
All information contained within the Daviess County Health Department's website is intended for educational purposes only and is not to be used for diagnosis or treatment. The information is provided to further the understanding of WIC nutrition and related matters. Consumers should never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something they may have seen on this site. Nutritionists, physicians and other health care professionals are encouraged to consult other sources and confirm information contained on this site. References to any non-governmental entity, product, service, or source of information that may be contained in this site should not be considered an endorsement, either direct or implied, by the Daviess County Health Department. Additionally, the Daviess County Health Department cannot be held responsible for information contained on other sites to which its website may be linked. If any offensive information is found on these sites, we would appreciate immediate notification.
In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from Discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability.
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The Daviess County Health Department will host their annual health fair April 10th, 2008 in celebration of Public Health Week. The hours of the health fair is 7:00AM to 1:30PM. Activities planned are special priced labs including Chem 12, CBC, Lipid Panel, TSH, and PSA. Also planned are Height , Weight and BMI Calculations, Glaucoma Screenings, Nutrition Information and Door Prizes. The lab cost is $30.00 for females and $40.00 for males (because of the extra test of prostate specific antigen). Insurance and medicare will not be billed and the lab packages will not be divided. Individuals interested in the labs need to drink lots of water and fast after midnight the night before. Below is an explanation of the labs included in this screening.
PSA-Prostate Specific antigen (Screen for prostate cancer)
TSH-Thyroid Stimulating Hormone
Chem 12-Glucose, Urea Nitrogen, Creatinine, Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, Calcium, Protein, Albumin Globulin, AST, ALT, Bilirubin, Alkaline Phosphatase
CBC-White and Red Blood Cell Count, Hemoglobin, MCV, Absolute Lymphocytes, Monocytes, Absolute Eosinophils, Absolute Basophils, Neutrophils.
Lipid Panel-Triglycerides, Total Cholesterol, HDL, LDL, Cardiac Risk Ratio.
| Published Apr 02, 2008 - 03:30 PM |  |
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A Healthy Heart: The Numbers to Know
When it comes to keeping your heart healthy, it's all about the numbers. Virtually every heart-disease risk factor you have can be represented by a number, and to keep your heart healthy, you need to know what those numbers are, as well as how to move them. Do you know your numbers?
Four Key Numbers
Four of the most important numbers for you to know and track regularly are
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| Published Mar 28, 2008 - 12:53 PM | comments? |
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New FoodChamps.org Fun Way to Educate Children about Fruits and Vegetables
Wilmington, Del. - There is an exciting new addition to the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) website family, FoodChamps.org! This a tailored site for children, joining PBH's industry site, pbhfoundation.org, their catalog site, pbhcatalog.com, and their consumer site, fruitandveggiesmorematters.org.
"Our new website, FoodChamps.org, gives us the opportunity to interact directly with children and show them fruits and veggies can be fun," said Elizabeth Pivonka, Ph.D., R.D., president and CEO of PBH. "The games and activities found on the site are age appropriate and designed to educate children about fruits and vegetables and encourage them to eat more."
FoodChamps.org is part of the new Fruits & Veggies-More Matters® health initiative. The new site is designed with children ages two through eight in mind and will educate and encourage them to eat more fruits and veggies while they play games, fill in coloring pages, and enjoy other fun, online activities. The website features PBH's Fruit and Veggie Color Champions™. Kids learn about the Champions and then choose one to show them around the site. While on the site, children can have fun with fruit and vegetable math, play a fruit and veggie matching game, and even print out recipes to cook with an adult helper. They can also print out pages from the site to color with their own crayons or color special online coloring pages to print for Mom or Dad. The site also features an area that directs adults to the consumer site for more information about Fruits & Veggies-More Matters.
FoodChamps.org is a collaborative project with Imagination Farms, Kidzsmart, and PBH and was made possible by a generous donation from Imagination Farms and an in-kind contribution from Kidzsmart. The site offers age appropriate activities for kids two through eight years old, but may be appropriate for kids a little younger or a little older depending on the individual child. User testing conducted on the new website with kids two through eight years of age yielded positive initial results. Phase I of the new site is up and running now, and look for even more fruit and veggie fun to come later this year in Phase II.
"We know it can be difficult to get children to eat fruits and vegetables when there are so many other choices available, but we hope to help moms by offering a fun way for kids to learn how to make mealtime enjoyable and healthy," said Pivonka. "This new website features great games and activities to get kids excited about fruits and vegetables and help them start eating more. Look for more features to be added soon."
The "Get Kids Involved" section of fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org will link to the new kids' site and offer a quick preview of what kids will find there. Downloadable games and coloring pages on the Fruits & Veggies-More Matters site will remain available there.
About Produce for Better Health Foundation:
Produce for Better Health Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to lead the way to achieving increased daily consumption of fruits and vegetables by leveraging private industry resources, leveraging public sector resources, influencing policy makers, motivating key consumer influencers, and promoting fruits and vegetables directly to consumers. PBH, together with CDC and other national partners, recently launched a new national health initiative- Fruits & Veggies-More Matters®, the next generation of the 5 A Day campaign. To learn more, visit www.pbhfoundation.org and www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org.
| Published Feb 27, 2008 - 01:23 PM | comments? |
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08 Jan 2008
Autism spectrum disorders continued to rise in the state of California, US, even after mercury-containing thimerosal was removed from childhood vaccines, suggesting that exposure to the compound is not a cause of autism, as claimed by some groups.
These are the findings of a study published in the January issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry that was carried out by Drs Robert Schechter and Judith K. Grether of the California Department of Public Health, based in Richmond.
Read more...
| Published Jan 17, 2008 - 11:37 AM | |
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Friday, February 1, 2008, is National Wear Red Day—a day when Americans nationwide will take women's health to heart by wearing red to show their support for women's heart disease awareness. The Heart Truth is: "Heart Disease Doesn't Care What You Wear—It's the #1 Killer of Women." The statistics are alarming:
· Heart disease is the #1 killer of women.
· One in 4 women dies of heart disease; 1 in 30 dies of breast cancer.
The good news is that both men and women can lower their risk of heart disease by as much as 82 percent by leading a healthy lifestyle. Join the national awareness movement by wearing red on February 1, and encourage your family, friends, and coworkers to do the same. Anyone can participate by showing off a favorite red dress, shirt, or tie, or Red Dress Pin.
The Heart Truth is a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other partner organizations. The campaign launched the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2002 to deliver an urgent wakeup call to American women.
For tools and materials to help you promote Heart Truth activities, especially National Wear Red Day, visit www.hearttruth.gov.
| Published Jan 14, 2008 - 02:52 PM | |
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The Daviess County Health Department is again offering their “Parenting with Love and Logic” class. The next class will start on Thursday, January 24, 2008 and run through February 28, 2008. This class will be held every Thursday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for six weeks at the Daviess County Health Department located at 609A S. Main St., Gallatin, Missouri. The cost for this 6-week class is $25.00 per participant (this covers the workbook and supplies).
We will be using the “Parenting with Love and Logic” curriculum. This curriculum is made up of six modules and we will cover a module each night. Classes are offered to parents, grandparents, childcare providers or anyone who wants a better understanding of children and how to handle discipline. This class has been well received by other participants and is very fun and informative.
Please call 660-663-2414 for class availability, each class will be limited to ten students. If you have any other questions, please direct them to Kristie Smith, RN, at the above number.
For more information about Daviess County Health Department visit our website, www.daviesshealthonline.com.
| Published Jan 14, 2008 - 02:48 PM | |
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By Kristie Smith, RN
Allergies seem to be running rampant. People that have never had allergies before are finding that they have developed them in the past few years. Why is this?
Most allergies are triggered by irritants in our environment. To cut down on these irritants, many people try to cut down on household dust and pet dander. But we may just be trading one irritant for another. Many people with allergies are not allergic to just one thing. We are finding more and more people allergic to the chemicals in household cleaners. Not only can these cleaners be triggers, they can also be toxic to small children and pets.
If you are suffering from allergies, or just want to be more environment-friendly, here are some nontoxic cleaners for household cleaning. Not only are these cleaners better for our environment; they’re also CHEAP!
Read more...
| Published Jan 14, 2008 - 02:47 PM | |
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When winter temperatures drops significantly below normal, staying warm and safe can become a challenge. Exposure to cold temperatures, whether inside or outside, can cause other serious or life threatening health problems.
Plan Ahead
Preparing for extremely cold weather is very important. There are steps you can take in advance for greater wintertime safety
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| Published Jan 14, 2008 - 02:43 PM | |
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MRSA a growing concern
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is becoming more prevalent in the area. Since it is resistant to common antibiotics, it is a staph infection of some concern.
What is MRSA? MRSA is a type of staphylococcus (staph) that is resistant to antibiotics called beta-lactums. Beta-lactum antibiotics include methacillin and other more common antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin. While 25% to 30% of the population is colonized (when bacteria is present, but not causing an infection) with Staph, approximately 1% is colonized with MRSA.
Who Gets MRSA? Staph infections, including MRSA, occur most frequently among persons in hospitals and healthcare facilities who have weakened immune systems. Although now we are seeing an increase in MRSA not related to a recent hospitalization. MRSA infections in the community (CA-MRSA) are usually
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| Published Oct 25, 2007 - 12:05 PM | comments? |
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Lyme Disease, Protect Yourself from Tick Bites
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted from an infected Blacklegged tick. It can only transmit the bacteria after it has been attached to the skin (feeding on blood) for about 24 hours. It can be prevented by avoiding Blacklegged tick bites, and is treatable with antibiotics.
What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?
In most cases the first symptom for Lyme disease is a rash near the tick bite that may look like a bull’s eye target. The bite is often painless, so you may not even know you have been bitten. The rash usually appears between 7-10 days after the bite, but the range is between 3 and 30 days. You may also develop flu like symptoms, such as fever, headache, tiredness, stiff neck, soreness all over and pain or swelling in the joints. These symptoms may appear in stages and may appear over a period of months.
What can you do to protect yourself?
Cover as much of your skin as possible.
Wear enclosed shoes.
Tuck your shirt into your pants
Tuck your pant legs into your socks.
Use insect repellent containing DEET on exposed skin.
Follow directions on the label.
Do not use DEET on children under 6 months of age.
Check yourself, your children, and your pets.
Include armpits, groin, and scalp.
Remove ticks from skin promptly and carefully using tweezers.
The Blacklegged tick does not always have black colored legs. Dog ticks usually have white or silver colored spots.
| Published May 22, 2007 - 08:54 AM | |
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