Day in the Life of... 

We love finding a perfect fit. Sometimes this perfect fit takes the shape of a pair of jeans, a friendship or even a job. For Dan Ries, his job as a Senior Environmental Health Specialist at the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health has been the perfect fit for him.

Ries started his professional career off at the University of Northern Iowa where he obtained his bachelor degree in General Science with an emphasis in Environmental Planning. "Science always fascinated me when I was younger," said Ries. "I like the logic behind science." A requirement to complete his degree was an internship. Ries completed his internship at Black Hawk County Health Department. "My internship at Black Hawk County Health Department prepared me for my career at the Health Department," Ries noted. "I learned about many facets of Environmental Health including food establishment inspections, nuisance reports, swimming pool and spa inspections and the lead program." Ries internship landed him in the right direction and right after college he started at the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health as an Environmental Health Specialist.

When Ries started at the Health Department, he was primarily responsible for inspecting food establishment such as restaurants and convenience stores and swimming pools and spas. Ries has advanced in his position to become Senior Environmental Health Specialist. Now his duties include reviewing transient non-community water supplies reports, such as restaurants and other businesses, parks, churches and other public use establishments that are not hooked up to a community water supply and oversight of the private well program where he tests wells for arsenic, bacteria and nitrates. Another unique part of Ries' job is reviewing manure management plans. "I review where farmers and farming companies plan to apply manure and the proximity their fields are to water resources, parks, residential areas and cities," he notes. Concerns of potential negative impacts to water or air quality are forwarded to the DNR.

Ries' experience at the Health Department has allowed him to become a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) and Certified Professional-Food Safety (CP-FS). This certification has benefited the Health Department in many ways including obtaining a grant through the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) to begin the department's implementation of the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards. The Health Department will be mentored by Platte County Health Department in Missouri to conduct a self-assessment of the food program and begin to make steps toward achieving standards which will ultimately enhance the services they provide to the public and food service establishments. "This new grant opportunity will improve our new consulting approach to the food establishment inspections," he said. Ries will be coordinating this grant.

Throughout his time at the Health Department, Ries has seen many benefits. "The Environmental Health service section has expanded greatly," he notes. "We now inspect tanning salons, tattoo parlors and transient non-community water supplies." Another change the Environmental Health service section has experienced since Ries has been here is the de-regionalization of the food and the creation of the pool/spa, tanning and tattoo inspection programs. Yet, Ries says one of the greatest benefits working at the Health Department over the years has been the great coworkers. Looking toward the future of the Public Health, Ries can see Geographic Information Systems (GIS) playing a large role with environmental health concerns and wellness. "I can see GIS helping us to make connections between locations and their associated health risks," he states.

Over the years, Ries has seen many changes and advances at the Health Department; however, we're glad that it's a perfect fit for him!