By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
Sometimes, you just need a wake-up call. We all do – and not necessarily for work.
Dr. Jennifer L. Mooney, PhD, MS, District Director of Health for the Northern Northern Kentucky Health Department did just that to a group of Rotarians at the Radisson Hotel this week.
A perhaps it was Dr. Mooney, herself who got a wake-up call that directed her to a career in Public Health.
“I was a Blue-Collar Kid,” she told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “I didn’t know what I really wanted after school.”
Mooney received her BA is Psychology, earned an MA in Criminal Justice and her PhD is in Sociology from the University of Kentucky.
“I wanted to be a Professor,” she said, “But I was disenchanted with the research process. I felt Public Health would be more reverent. You could see a real trend and then act on it.”
And that is what she did in the Fall of 2022 when she accepted a position as the District Director of Health at the Northern Kentucky Health Department.
As a Kentucky native, she says she is totally dedicated to leading an agency that promotes optimal health among those living in Boone, Campbell, Grant, and Kenton counties.
Northern Kentuckians can thank the COVID-19 pandemic in part for Mooney’s return to Kentucky.
“When the pandemic ended in Ohio, there was the question – what do we do. I just felt I needed another challenge. The position in Northern Kentucky was open, I was not really looking to move; but I did apply.”
Before the pandemic, Mooney was working in the Cincinnati Health Department, overseeing a division of projects and programs that promoted community resiliency, self-sufficiency, and health equity.
She led an in-depth analysis of factors contributing to infant mortality, spearheaded the implementation of the Reproductive Health and Wellness Programs for Hamilton Country, and led the department’s efforts in response to the addiction crisis. She played a critical role as the Clinical Operations Chief in the agency’s incident command structure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From 2019 through 2022, Dr. Mooney served as the Assistant Health Commissioner for Hamilton County Public Health.
She took all that across the Ohio River.
“Kentucky has 120 counties,” she told the group, “But only 61 health departments – every country is covered by a health department.”
Most others, she said, are single-county or multi-county districts; located in more rural areas; they are smaller and governed by the Kentucky Department of Public Health (KDPH).
“Our Northern Kentucky Health is unique,” she said. “Our full legal name is Northern Kentucky Independent District Board of Health.”
And she added, “We are the only health department in Kentucky that is both independent and a district.”
The Northern Kentucky Health Department works to promote, protect, and improve your health. The four-county health district serves 420,000 residents, plus those who work, play, and travel in the jurisdiction, she noted.
The programmatic Divisions are:
• Environmental Health & Safety
• Clinical Services
• Population Health
The staff is some 150, she said, with professional and support staff, as well as some volunteer opportunities.
The budget, she said, totals $29,160,285; with 38% coming from local taxes; 31% from Federal; 15% from states and another 15% from fees.
So, what so we get from the NKHD? Here are some real eye-openers: Permits, inspections and complaint investigations.
“There’s 360 public pools in Northern Kentucky,” Dr. Mooney said, “And we inspect them monthly.”
On-site sewage systems are inspected; animal bite (rabies) investigations; and planning and response to disasters, emergencies, and outbreaks all fall under the department’s umbrella.
Let us not forget family planning, TB testing, case management, testing for HIV and hepatitis C, cancer screenings, immunizations for children and adults, and nutrition counseling just to touch on some of the Clinical Services.
Infectious disease investigations and HIV/AIDS services as well as oral health programs and smoking cessation – tobacco and e-cigarettes are Population Health matters.
And perhaps the biggest news – the new Kenton County Health Center on James Simpson Jr. Way, in Covington, is planning an August ribbon-cutting, according to Dr. Mooney.
“This project has been on the drawing board since 2017,” she told the club.
Maybe we were waiting for Dr. Mooney’s return to Kentucky.