H1N1 threat mostly past, Health District looks ahead

  • By Dave Mast
  • March 4, 2010
  • 635
                        
To call 2009 a challenging year for the Holmes County Health District would be like calling the Grand Canyon a little hole in the ground. H1N1 definitely left its imprint in Holmes County. In the process of trying to inform the public about the disease and how to combat it, along with providing plenty of vital information on how best to avoid getting the flu through proper health techniques, the health district ended up diverting much of its energy toward H1N1. With that dilemma mostly behind them, the staff can now turn its attention to a number of other key issues. “It (H1N1) appears as though it will become a part of the seasonal flu at this point,” said DJ McFadden, county health commissioner. “We’ll continue to stress the importance of vaccination and proper health techniques, but the worst seems to be behind us. Encouraging people to get their vaccines won’t change for us, because this isn’t the common cold we’re dealing with. There are dangerous ramifications to it.” With the H1N1 storm calming down, McFadden said that the department can now focus on things that will continue to make the district’s health program one of the top in the state. The first issue at hand will be the improvement of quality assurance. “I’d like us to start looking at quality improvements, and targeting some projects within the district that will increase our quality of safety and health within the county,” said McFadden. “There’s a nationwide push to make sure that every district is pushing toward making quality assurance the norm.” McFadden listed a number of areas to which the district would like to turn its attention. One area is the development of a fluorescent light bulb recycling program. Because of mercury issues, fluorescent bulbs are not to be randomly thrown into the trash. This is an issue he said the district has had on its plate for some time. He also would like to implement a plan to focus on smoking cessation, and is hopeful that Holmes County will receive a tobacco grant (it is one of two counties being considered in Ohio), which will allow the district to create a campaign to promote cessation. “With that grant, we could aggressively pursue that,” said McFadden. “Helping people quit smoking, warning teens about the dangers of tobacco. These are things we need to stress within our county.” The numbers certainly back that statement, considering that there are 18,500 tobacco-related deaths in Ohio each year, along with $4.37 billion worth of health care costs. Another issue is a commercial plumbing program, which would allow builders and plumbers to have their plans processed here in Holmes County rather than going to Reynoldsburg. The main issues there are going to be start-up costs and finding a master plumber who fits in with Holmes County. “We want to find someone who wants it done right, but who is also willing to be helpful and consultative,” said McFadden. There are a number of additional goals for 2010, but what McFadden believes will help the county the most will be a move toward electronic improvement in every department of the Health District. “We’re still behind in the electronic game,” he said. “We’ve got a way to go in making things more efficient, faster and simpler for everyone. That is going to be one of my main goals for 2010.”


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