Welcome New Employees!

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1 Laurel County Health Department Volume 2, Issue 5 October 1, 2016 Welcome New Employees! Inside this issue: Welcome New 1 Rabies Clinic 1 Child Passenger 2 Employee Wellness 2 Active Shooter 2 Employee Spotlight 3 Saying Goodbye 3 Congratulations! 3 From the Director s 4 National Diabetes 5 Upcoming Events 6 LCHD would like to welcome our newest employees, Kassidy Carpenter and Heather Smith! Kassidy and Heather are working in our HANDS program as Family Support Workers. They will be providing home visitation support services to new or expectant parents, focusing on healthy pregnancies, healthy babies, and child development. They recently underwent a week of core HANDS training in Owensboro and a week of training in Elizabethtown for Growing Healthy Kids. We are so excited to have Kassidy and Heather! We know they are going to be a huge asset to our HANDS team as well as our organization as a whole! Rabies Clinic Held at LCHD On Saturday, September 17th, Laurel County Health Department held our semiannual rabies clinic at the health department. Over 120 vaccines were administered! This set a new record for most vaccines given at one of our clinics! Thank you to Dr. Massey and the LCHD Environmental team for your hard work and for providing this service to our community!

2 Page 2 October-November Newsletter Child Passenger Safety Week Trp. Lloyd Cochran from KSP and Ronda Arnold, LCHD MCH Coordinator, were on hand to talk with parents. Child Passenger Safety Week was September 18-24th. On September 22nd, the Laurel County Health Department, Cumberland Valley Area District Development, and KY State Police teamed up to offer car seat checks and give away a booster seat to a qualifying participant. Every day in America, many children ride in car seats that have been installed incorrectly or are the wrong car seats for their age and size. Other children ride while completely unbuckled. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 59 percent of car seats are misused. Left: Trp. Chris Pruitt, Dreama Wright from CVADD, and Trp. Lloyd Cochran prepare for the seat checks. Below: Deputy Michael Stotts from the Madison County Sheriff s Office checks a child s booster seat. Employee Wellness Challenge LCHD currently has several staff members participating in a wellness challenge for the remainder of the fiscal year. Participants have 2 components in which they are eligible to receive prizes. The first is a points challenge where employees accumulate points by tracking daily steps, participating in athletic or community clean-up events, and other healthy life- style choices. For each point earned, participants will have their name entered into a drawing. One award will be given at our December staff meeting; the other at the June 2017 staff meeting. The second aspect is the Lean and Mean challenge. Participants had their body measurements taken at the starting point and an award will be given in June 2017 to the employees who have: -The highest point reduction in BMI -The most inches lost from waist -The highest % of body weight lost. Good luck to all participants and may we all take steps toward better health over the next year! Active Shooter Training LCHD employees participated in an active shooter training on September 30th. With the help of Becki Patton, our region s Preparedness Coordinator, and London Police Department s Sgt. Travis Dotson, we learned to have a mindset of preparedness for this type of event and a plan of action. Thanks to both Becki and Sgt. Dotson for taking time out of your busy schedules to share your knowledge!

3 Volume 2, Issue 5 Page 3 Employee Spotlight Tim Vorbeck This month s employee spotlight focuses on a very special person at LCHD. As of June 2016, Tim Vorbeck has been with our health department for 40 years! Tim is a Registered Sanitarian and LCHD s Environmental Supervisor. The best thing about Tim as an employee is that he truly loves his job. Not many people stay in one job for 40 years. Tim stated when he started working in public health in the 70 s, his mentor told him if you do what you love and are called to do, you probably won t ever be rich, but you ll never want for anything. He says he is so thankful for his health and to still be working and doing what he loves. The job can be challenging at times, as going to people s homes and businesses can sometimes be dangerous, especially when some folks can be very demanding and even threatening, but he said that working with the public is also his favorite part of the job, along with having great coworkers. This career has allowed him to provide for his family, which is what he treasures most. In Tim s spare time, he can be found hunting or spending time with his family, which includes 5 grandchildren. He will be headed out on a hunting trip soon, but says his best times are vacations with all of his children and grandchildren. Tim is not only a wonderful employee to have, but just an all around great guy. He is always willing to help others and is so generous with his time and resources. We have been lucky to have Tim for 40 years and hope there are many more to come! Saying Goodbye... At the end of July, we said goodbye to another long-time LCHD employee. Charlotte Sawyers began her next chapter into retirement after 22 years of working at our health department. We want to wish Charlotte the best and many years of rest, relaxation, and fun adventures! CONGRATULATIONS! Many exciting things have taken place over the past few months at LCHD. Our staff had the amazing opportunity to be a part of the engagement of HANDS FSW Rhoda Sasser during our July staff meeting. She said yes! A wedding followed on August 19th. We are all so happy for Rhoda and her husband, Ed! We also welcomed a new baby into the LCHD family as Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Tina Stevenson, her husband Drew, and big sister Nora gained a beautiful baby girl, Emilia Mae on August 22nd!

4 Page 4 October-November Newsletter From the Director s Desk Flu Season Has Arrived While current U.S. flu activity is low overall, localized influenza outbreaks have been reported. Influenza activity often begins to increase in October. CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months and older. Now is a good time to get vaccinated. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for protection to set in. Flu vaccination can reduce flu illnesses and prevent flu-related hospitalizations. Flu vaccines have been updated for the season. More than 90 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccine have been distributed at this time. Flu vaccine is available at the Laurel County Health Department Monday-Friday 8:00 am 3:30 pm by appointment or walk-in. Protect yourself this flu season by, not only vaccinating against the flu, but by taking simple, yet effective precautionary measures such as: Washing your hands often with soap and water Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Germs spread this way. Avoid close contact with anyone who is sick Clean and disinfect objects and surfaces that could be contaminated with germs like the flu virus If you or someone in your household becomes sick with the flu, the following steps can help to limit spread to others: Cover you mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw away the tissue after use. Wash your hands often While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible Stay home for at least 24-hours after fever is gone (without fever-reducing medicines) except to get medical care or other absolute necessities. You can still spread illness even when you think you are feeling better.

5 Page 5 October-November Newsletter November is American Diabetes Month 2016 Theme: This Is Diabetes This is a bus driver. This is a ballet dancer. This is a student, an architect, and a janitor. This is one in eleven people in America. What is this? This is Diabetes. Twenty-nine million people in the United States have diabetes. Eighty-six million more are at risk. This November, the American Diabetes Association is telling stories of people living with diabetes. This is important. The theme of American Diabetes in 2016 is: This is Diabetes. The goal of this campaign is to salute those 29 million Americans with diabetes as well as their loved ones to raise awareness and create a sense of urgency about this growing health crisis. Every 23 seconds, someone in the United States is diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes is now the 7th leading cause of death, causing more deaths than AIDS and breast cancer combined. The campaign invites people to submit their own stories to capture the authenticity of those who understand this disease best. If you or a loved one is living with diabetes, you can get involved in this movement by sharing your story, photo, or video on social media using #ThisIsDiabetes. Laurel County Health Department supports the fight against diabetes by providing a variety of services. We hold free classes for the community to learn more about the disease and for those with diabetes to learn how to better manage it. We also have a Registered Dietitian on staff who can meet one-on-one to help those with diabetes customize a meal plan that works for them. For more information, go to

6 525 Whitley Street London, KY Phone: Website: Like us on Facebook! Upcoming Events: -Diabetes Self-Management Education LCHD (Basement Classroom) Class #1: Monday, October 3rd; 5-7 pm Class #2: Monday, October 10th; 5-7 pm Class #3: Monday, October 17th; 5-7 pm Class #4: Monday, October 24th; 5-7 pm -Holiday Meal Planning for Diabetes Class Monday, November Extension Office (time TBD) The Laurel County Health Dept. will be closed on the following dates: -Tuesday, November 8th Election Day -Friday, November 11th Veteran s Day -Thursday & Friday, November 24th & 25th Thanksgiving Laurel County Health Department s 14th Annual Holiday Health Fair Friday December 9th, :00 pm 4:00 pm Location: Laurel County Health Department 525 Whitley Street London, KY Santa will be here! Come get a FREE picture with Santa and lots of great health information!