MOUND CITY – On Monday, April 1, Linn County Health Department Director Amanda Snyder updated the Linn County Commissioners on activities and events.
Snyder told the commissioners that National Public Health Week was April 1–7. Then, she informed them of upcoming events sponsored and attended by the health department.
• April 15 – The health department will help with kindergarten round-up. They will schedule physicals and immunizations appointments.
• April 19 – A “de-stress” event open to the public will be held at the health department from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be someone to teach about stretching and breathing techniques. Other activities include chair massages, Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center staff will be talking about relaxation techniques, self-care and mental health. The de-stress event will also have therapy animals.
• April 22 – The Jayhawk-Linn staff health fair will be held. The health department nurses will be doing biometric lab draws in the morning and in the afternoon, they will have a table to highlight all of the health department services.
• April 26 – The Community Baby Shower and Kids’ Fair will be held at the First Baptist Church, Mound City, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Snyder also reported on past activities. She said the health department served 392 people in March plus all of the Jayhawk Elementary students. Outreach activities included an Every Door Direct Mailer to residents of Linn County telling them about the services the health department provides.
Other events reported by Snyder were the Jayhawk-Linn Junior/Senior High School health fair where health department staff provided exhibits on vaping and the effects of energy drinks.
Snyder said the health department staff had partnered with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) mobile lab to provide education to all of the Jayhawk Elementary students about infection prevention, sickness prevention, water sheds, DNA extraction, and mosquitoes.
Snyder told the commissioners that the health department head nurse Danielle Casey had attended the Public Health Governor’s Conference. She also reported that she and Casey had attended the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Summit.
She reminded the commissioners of an email she had sent them a week ago about the Aid to Local Health Department grants that the health department applies for each year and that she needed a signature for the application.
After reviewing the grants, the commissioners moved to approve the grants for the total amount of $62,123.
The grants were:
• Maternal and Health Care Grant request for $28,652, even though the state usually grants the county $12,000 to $14,000. Snyder said that this grant covers salaries, benefits, advertising for the programs, education, items for exhibits for different events, speakers, initiatives for the Becoming a Mom program as well as funds for the community baby shower and kids’ fair.
• Immunization Action Plan (IAP) grant for $4,240. This grant covers salaries and benefits for nurses who are administering immunizations.
• Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) grant for $13,467 to cover public health emergency preparedness and salaries and benefits for Snyder and Casey as well as training material and maintenance of the health department emergency equipment.
• State Formula Grant for $15,764 to cover salaries and benefits for services at the health department.