|
|
|
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. |
|
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.
|
|
The Health Department will be closed on January 16 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will also be closed 8AM to 1PM on January 27th for a staff training.
| Published Jan 10, 2012 - 12:00 AM |  |
|
The Daviess county Health Department will be doing flu shots in the office every Tuesday from 8-4 no appointment necessary. Please call for an appointment if that day will not work for you. We are asking for a $15.00 donation or we will bill your Medicare or Medicaid.
| Published Dec 14, 2011 - 09:13 AM | |
|
Drive Thru Flu Vaccine Offered
The Daviess County Health Department will be offering a drive thru flu clinic again this year on September 29th, 2011 from 2-6PM at the Dockery Park in Gallatin. You may be wondering; what is a drive thru flu clinic? Exactly what it implies, you actually drive to a designated area and a nurse gives you your flu shot while you sit in the car. The reason we are doing a drive thru is to test our ability to do mass vaccination in a setting outside the health department. We will be utilizing our mass vaccination guide and using volunteers from the community to assist us.
We will not be doing anyone under 18 years of age at the drive thru. See article elsewhere in this newsletter about children’s vaccine.
In this newsletter you will find the flu vaccine form that can be completed before coming to the clinic or you can pick one up at The Daviess County Health Department, The Gallatin Senior Center, or you may wait and fill it out as you drive thru. Have your Medicare or Medicaid card ready as we will bill them or a $15.00 donation is requested.
This year’s flu vaccine will protect you from three flu strains of influenza including the 2009 H1N1 so only one shot is needed. Every year more than 200,000 people are hospitalized due to influenza with about 36,000 deaths. The flu vaccine does not provide protection against non-flu viruses that can cause colds or other respiratory illnesses. It can sometimes be hard to tell the difference between the cold and flu based on symptoms alone. The best way you can protect yourself against influenza is to get a flu shot every year and practice good hand washing techniques. If you do need to cough or sneeze always use a Kleenex and throw it in the trash. If you do not have one then cover your sneeze or cough with the inside of your elbow not your bare hands. If you have flu like symptoms it is recommended you stay at home at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or necessities.
In addition to the important role that health care providers play in recommending influenza vaccination for their patients, influenza vaccination of health care personnel is important to protect themselves, their patients, their family, and the community from influenza. Even if you cannot come to one of our clinics please be sure to see your healthcare provider for a flu shot.
Be safe and healthy.
Cheryl Alexander, RN-Administrator
| Published Sep 02, 2011 - 12:00 AM | |
|
Skin cancer is on the rise. The American Cancer Society estimated in 2005 that melanoma (just one type of skin cancer) accounted for 59,580 of the cases of skin cancer in the United States. In 2010, the rate for melanoma had risen to 68,130 cases. The death rate had also risen from 7,770 to 8,700 respectively. Taking into consideration all forms of skin cancer, 1 in 5 Americans will have skin cancer sometime in their lifetime.
Since 1 in 5 will be diagnosed with skin cancer, it is very important to get your skin checked on a regular basis.
May is Skin Cancer Prevention Month and we want to do our part to help identify skin cancer in its earliest stages, when it is the most curable, by offering skin cancer screenings. This screening is not diagnostic, but rather a screening to refer suspect moles or lesions to a licensed physician. We will be offering this service on Wednesday, May 25th (by appointment only). For more information or to set up an appointment, please call the Daviess County Health Department at 660-663-2414 or 1-866-663-2414.
| Published May 03, 2011 - 12:00 AM | |
|
Health Department Funds?
By Cheryl Alexander, Administrator
I have been asked in the past how the health department is funded. The Daviess County Health Department is mostly funded with the use of county tax dollars. We also receive a small amount of state funding as well as federal grants/funding. I have been asked how these funds are used here at the health department. We provide a wide variety of services to the community such as blood pressures, public health home visits, immunizations, flu shots, labs, communicable disease investigations, just to name a few things. Many people do not realize we do inspections of lodging, restaurants; temporary food stands as well as sewage. Listed below are just a few of the services and number of people we served in 2010:
Birth and death certificates=439
Blood Draws=430
Blood Pressures=1061
Communicable Disease Investigations=48
Flu Shots (Adults)=745
Food service/Restaurant/Sewage Inspections=173
Immunizations=918 (this is people served, most children get at least two shots)
Public Health Home Visits=302
This year we are going to be giving back to the community by providing free labs for Daviess County residents or taxpayers at our health fair. Those that do not live in our county will be charged a drastically reduced rate of $30.00 for women and $40.00 for men. (See the flyer elsewhere in this newsletter) We have changed the format and we will be taking appointments for April 13 or 14 for labs, no walk-ins. We will start taking appointments on March 22, 2011.
During the year of 2010 we saw a decline in our state funding and we expect more cuts to come with our federal funding. However, we continue to have a loyal community base and wanted to give back some of your tax dollars by providing these free labs. Most of our services are free and we serve a wide variety of people, from newborn to the elderly.
These are again just some of the services provided by the health department. Without the assistance of your tax dollars and donations most of these preventive health services would not exist and diseases such has tuberculosis, food borne illnesses, childhood diseases, and many others would be a health hazard.
We are also a great resource for many people, I could not count the number of people that call just for a referral or health information.
If you have any questions please feel free to call The Daviess County Health Department at 660-663-2414 or toll free 1-866-663-2414.
| Published Mar 25, 2011 - 12:00 AM | comments? |
|
National Public Health Week will be celebrated on April 4-10, 2011. This year’s theme is safety. Help us celebrate by going to the following link to use these simple tools to stay safe: http://www.nphw.org/nphw11/first1.htm
| Published Mar 08, 2011 - 12:00 AM | |
|
|
|
