Quarterly report from NKYHEALTH, the Northern Kentucky Health Department, whose mission is to keep Northern Kentucky healthy, had a busy quarter. Here is its summary report:
• Staff from Population Health’s Epidemiology unit was presented with the Commissioner’s Award for Public Health Response by the Kentucky Public Health Association for their response to the extremely rare case of human rabies in our region.
Due to the seriousness and time-sensitive nature of a rabies case, their response required a great deal of urgency, attention to detail, effective communication, consensus, and coordination with numerous partners, including officials from the Centers for Disease Control, Kentucky Department for Public Health, several local hospitals, the Ohio Department of Health, Cincinnati Health Department, and several other affected parties.
Their investigation identified more than 400 individuals who came in contact with the rabies patient, all of whom had to be contacted and given an initial assessment to determine risk and the need for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). More than 40 people between two states were recommended for PEP.
(See the NKyTribune’s story about the rabies case here.)
• Carolyn Swisshelm, a registered nurse in the Epidemiology Department, was presented with the Outstanding Public Health Nurse Award by the Kentucky Public Health Association for her exceptional performance in the rabies case.
She was cited for going above and beyond in a complex and urgent situation, along with her lifetime of distinguished service.
• The rabies case generated 492 earned or social media mentions both locally and nationally, reaching 600 million people.
• The Vape Disposal Program we set up with local schools, who are required to confiscate vapes from students and dispose of them in an environmentally friendly way since they are considered hazardous waste, collected 184 vapes and associated products during the quarter, preventing an estimated 1 million “puffs.”
• NKYHEALTH’s website was redesigned and reorganized in an effort to make it both more user-friendly for those searching for information, and to make it more visually appealing to those reading its pages. All of our services are now broken down by topic rather than by the Division they fall under.
• The health department made presentations about secondhand smoke and smoke-free workplaces Pto the Ludlow and Wilder City Councils as they considered passing smoke-free ordinances.
• NKYHEALTH delivered resources to nine schools in the region to assist in the development and implementation of staff worksite wellness programs.
• NKYHEALTH launched a Communicable Disease Dashboard that tracks 43 different diseases dating back nine years, and allows each disease to be tracked by gender, race, age, county, and ethnicity. We now have five dashboards that track different data on our website, all available to the public.
• Produce Man, NKYHEALTH’s mascot for healthy eating, took part in the parade of mascots during the Reds’ Kids Opening Day. He handed out health department baseballs, and autographed everything from foam fingers to shirts.
• NKYHEALTH delivered more than 100 Tobacco 21 Toolkits to tobacco retailers in Boone County and Kenton County to educate and help them comply with the law regarding sale of products.