Chipley Kiwanis Club President Brandon Lovering (shown at right) welcomed club members to Tuesday’s luncheon meeting with a reminder that they wouldn’t want to miss next week’s meeting that will feature a political forum facing off opponents Todd Abbott and Wesley Griffin.
The catered club luncheons are held weekly at Patillo’s Restaurant on the campus of the Florida Panhandle Technical College in Chipley.
Lovering also put out an invitation for anyone interested in joining the Chipley Kiwanis Satellite Club to attend the Sept. 18th meeting of that group which will meet at 5:30 p.m. at Skins & Bubbas Restaurant on Hwy 77 in Chipley.
Club members welcomed guest speaker Susie Sewell from the Washington County Health Department as she presented Tuesday’s program explaining the services that agency delivers to county residents and outline the following program:
- Primary Care
The Washington County Health Department has a full-time Primary Care Program that focuses onproviding quality health care regardless of a client’s insurance status or ability to pay. Primary care services provided include routine adult and child health care, management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, lab work, and physicals for school and sports. Adult vaccines and mammograms are also available.
- Healthy Start
The Washington County Healthy Start Program works to assure a comprehensive quality system of care for women of childbearing age and children. Goals are to improve the health and development outcomes of children, reduce low birth weight and pre-term deliveries of infancts, and to reduce infant mortality. Services include outreach and care corrdination, help to quit smoking, childbirth and breastfeeding education and support, parenting support and education, psychosocial and nutrition counseling.
- Childhood Immunizations
Childhood immunizations are provided free of charge at the Washington County Health Dpartment to all children, regardless of family income level. Immunications begin at two months of age and could save your child’s life from several diseases and include Polio Vaccine, DTP/DTAP (Diphtheria, Tetanus and Whooping cough), HBV/Hepatitis, MMR (Measels, Mumps and Rubella), and Varicella (chicken pox).
- WIC (Women, Infants, and Children Food Supplementation Program)
WIC promotes and assists with proper prenatal and childhood nutrition to families that meet certain requirements for income and/or nutritional status. For more information about this program, call 850-638-6240, ext 136.
- Childhood Services
The Washington County Health Department provides several pediatric services including well-baby check-ups, as well as care for children during illness. Daycare and school physicals as required for enrollment by Florida law are also available.
- Dental Services
Dental Services are provided at the Washington County Health Department dental facility and at local schools. Services are available to all ages. The Health Department accepts Medicaid and offers a cash fee for non-Medicaid patients. Through a school based sealant program, children can receive an exam by the dentist and cleaning with dental sealants, as needed, by a dental hygienist with parental permission. Their dental facility is staffed with a full-time dentist, a dental hygienist, and two dental assistants. If you have any questions, please call 850-638-6240, ext. 171.
- Breast and Cervical Cancer Program
Florida Breast and Cervical Cancer Program is a women’s health program that focuses on breast and cervical health and is funded through a grant from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Services are provided free to women who are 50-64 years old, uninsured, and meet income guidelines. The following services are included … mammograms, clinical breast exam, pap smear, pelvic exam, and follow-up tests and treatment.
- Vital Records
This program registers all births and deaths that occur in the county. They issue copies of birth certificates for births that occur in the state and death certificates for deaths that occur in the county.
- School Health
School Health provides a variety of nursing services and screenings in Washington County Schools. These services and screenings include … vision and hearing screenings, scoliosis screenings, blood pressure screenings, and immunizations. Specific health education classes are provided to students in Kindergarten through 12th grade.
- Environmental Health
Services are aimed at preventing or reducing dealth risks that may occur in daily surroundings. Detecting and correcting environmental dangers that can cause disease or injury is one key service. Through public education, periodic inspection, investigation of complaints and enforcement of laws relating to safety and sanitation, the environmental health staff helps to make the community a healthier place to live. Some of the services provided through the Environmental Health program include food hygiene, water testing of public and private drinking supplies and swimming poods, on-site sewage system inspection, community hygiene, tanning salon inspection, sanitary inspection of group facilities, animal bite investigation, and rabies detection.
For more information about the Washington County Health Department visit their office at 1338 South Boulevard in Chipley, or cal 840-638-6240.
The Washington County Health Department is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
You can also visit them on the Web at: www.washingtonchd.com