Pg. 6 2024 Health & Wellness Magazine Lincoln Daily News The Logan County Department of Public Health (LCDPH) recently hit a milestone by serving and protecting the community for over 50 years! At the time, although there was much to celebrate, LCDPH was in the midst of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, LCDPH continues to proudly serve every resident of Logan County in ways which may be unknown to much of the public. When asked about what the health department does, most people will say, “it is the agency that inspects our restaurants, or it is the agency that provides vaccinations.” Although this is true, LCDPH does so much more! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified 10 essential local health department public health services that are critical to protect communities. LCDPH… • Monitors Health Problems to track diseases in order to keep the community informed and medical providers updated on any health risks that pose a widespread threat to the community. Monitoring was critical during the pandemic and LCDPH continues ongoing monitoring for diseases such as measles, the recent bird flu, and RSV just to name a few. • Diagnoses and Investigates health issues. Classic examples include investigating and finding the cause of illness outbreaks in nursing homes and from food establishments. This may require the teamwork of the environmental health and nursing staff at LCDPH to work in tandem to identify causes and ways to prevent further outbreaks. Health Department Serves the Community for Over 50 Years • Informs, Educates, and Promotes by sharing important public health information and services to the community. This is commonly done through health fairs, presentations, media visits, press releases, and is also offered by request from the community. LCDPH environmental health program also educates foodservice workers regarding safe food handling practices while the LCDPH WIC program educates families on the importance of good nutrition. • Mobilizes Community Partnerships. A good example of this is LCDPH’s efforts to bring the behavioral health service community together to advocate or to make recommendations to the County by way of the Mental Health Advisory Committee. • Develops Policies and Plans to support community wide efforts. This was evident during COVID-19 when LCDPH developed mass testing and immunization plans in addition to creating policies to address quarantine and isolation. • Enforces Laws and Regulations that protect the health of the community. This is demonstrated by LCDPH in their responsibility to license and inspect all food establishments, permit and inspect construction of all County private sewage disposal systems, water wells, and regulate nuisance violations. LCDPH enforces laws found in several County Ordinances. Many of the laws pertaining to food safety, water well construction, and sewage disposal are adopted
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