Public Health: everyone, everyday, everywhere

Keeping citizens healthy now is much more cost effective than treating health problems in the future. That’s the philosophy of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD), which focuses on preventing disease, illness and accidental injury; protecting clean air and water; and educating the public on ways to stay healthy.

The department’s total budget for fiscal year 2005-2006 was more than $19 million. Personnel costs make up 74 percent of the department’s expenses. The City funds about 24 percent of the budget, and the County funds about 12 percent. About 43 percent comes from more than 70 federal, state and local grants and contracts. About 21 percent of the revenue comes from user fees, interest and other sources. If every resident of Lincoln and Lancaster County received a bill for the protection and services of LLCHD, it would total about $2.31 per month.

LLCHD has six major divisions serving the public:

Dental Health and Nutrition Services
Because oral health is essential to overall well being, the division provides dental procedures, oral injury prevention and nutrition education to eligible low-income families. More than 6,700 visits were made to the dental clinic last year, and another 7,000 elementary students received dental screening. The dietitians and nurses of the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program help 3,200 low-income pregnant and parenting women and their young children every month through education, assessment and food vouchers.

Animal Control Division
Citizens licensed nearly 54,000 animals in 2005-2006 to help ensure that these pets were properly vaccinated against disease. Animal Control also plays an important role in injury prevention by taking action on more than 500 bite cases each year. Last year, Animal Control officers investigated nearly 1,000 cases of animal abuse. To decrease the number of stray and unwanted pets, the division actively promotes the spaying or neutering of all pets.

Health Promotion and Outreach
Health promotion reaches into the community by providing health education and creating an environment to support good health. The division helps people of all ages establish and maintain good habits to last a lifetime. In fiscal year 2005-06, 41,000 breakfasts and lunches were served through the Summer Food Program; 1,000 families received child safety seat education; 1,440 children participated in bike safety rodeos; 95 businesses with 56,000 employees participated in worksite wellness programs; and nearly 2,700 clients were served by the Every Woman Matters health screening program.

The division works with community partners in a wide variety of areas: worksite health, early childhood development, tobacco prevention, physical activity, adolescent health, cancer screening and early detection, cardiovascular disease and diabetes prevention, and injury prevention, especially for children.

Environmental Public Health
This division works to protect the community by ensuring a safe environment, especially through clean air and water and safe food handling. Every year, trained staff respond to more than 150 hazardous materials spills, meth labs, potential terror threats, airborne releases of toxic gases and chemicals spills that threaten water. They also collect more than 60,000 pounds of household hazardous waste each year through special events which give citizens the opportunity to voluntarily drop off the waste.

The division trains more 11,000 food handlers each year and completes about 2,000 food sanitation inspections. Periodic updating ensures that food managers maintain their high level certification. The result is that the number of complaints and reports of food-borne illnesses has steadily decreased at the same time the number of restaurants and food handlers continues to increase. Child care facilities also are routinely inspected for safety and sanitation, resulting in fewer outbreaks of easily spread gastrointestinal diseases.

Community Health Services Division
This division includes three major programs:

• The Public Health Nurses of the Access Medicaid Program provide outreach, enrollment, and education services for more than 18,000 people eligible for Medicaid. Clients are helped to select health care providers and health plans that best meets their needs.
• Nurses in the Home and Community Program make at least 1,800 home visits annually to high-risk pregnant women and their infants. They also provide health assessments and referrals to adults who are homeless or under-served to establish them in the health care system.
• The Public Health Clinic provides access to affordable health care especially for populations that are indigent, low-income and uninsured or under insured.

Health Data and Evaluation
The division provide local health data and information to help elected officials, policy makers, community agencies and staff make health decisions. The division also has a major role in preparing LLCHD and emergency personnel to respond to natural disasters or chemical or biological threats in our community. The Communicable Disease Program is among the first on the scene to investigate disease outbreaks and prevent their spread. The division also is responsible for developing a local plan to be used in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak.

A nine-member Board of Health assists LLCHD with the development and implementation of public health policy. It includes a physician, a dentist, a City Council member, a County Board member and five appointees approved by the Mayor, City Council and County Board.

LLCHD has been headquartered at 3140 “N” Street in central Lincoln since the mid 1990s. To handle the growth in population and services, an addition to the facility was completed in 2006 with funding from revenue bonds.

For more information on LLCHD, visit the City Web site at lincoln.ne.gov (keyword: health) or click here.

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