Public Health Communicator

22 N. Georgia Ave. Suite 300 Mason City, IA 50401

Ph: 641-421-9300 Fax: 641-421-9350 Toll Free: 1-888-264-2581

Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health

August 2013

Day in the Life of...

Micki Fredricks,

Public Health Nurse

Micki Fredricks, Public Health Nurse for the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health knew when she was younger she wanted to be a nurse.

Her journey began at North Iowa Area Community College where she received her Associates Degree in Nursing. While she went to school, Fredricks was employed by Mercy North Iowa as a nursing assistant on the orthopedic and neurology floor. "I assisted the RN's [registered nurses] with personal cares, blood sugars and vitals," she said. "This position helped me gain a lot of knowledge and training that helped me succeed as a nurse." After graduation, Fredricks started full time at Mercy North Iowa as an RN on the general medical surgery floor. In this role, she was responsible for providing care to clients after general surgeries. "I provided care to patients by attending to IVs, post-surgery care and making sure they had the correct medications," stated Fredricks. During her first year post graduation, the nursing industry was going through a shortage of nurse. "I remember starting my nursing career on the floor with no charge nurse or aides and being responsible for 5-8 patients at a time," Fredricks notes. "Even though, this was challenging at times, it helped to shape me into a well-rounded nurse."

With the additional responsibilities of having a third child on the way, she needed to find a job that was more flexible. A position came open at the Health Department for a public health nurse and Fredricks has been here ever since.

As a public health nurse, Fredricks has many responsibilities. "I work to help clients in their homes and remain independent as long as possible," she states. "This means working with their family and loved ones to ensure their safety and wellbeing." Fredricks coordinates care with other agencies such as physical and occupational therapy, cardiac rehabilitation, dietitians, etc. to make sure all of the clients health needs are met. Other nursing duties include filling client medicine boxes, drawing blood, making sure they understand their medications and post-surgical and wound care.

Fredricks also provides services for the Family Connections Program. As a Family Connections Support Care Worker, she provides care and guidance to parents who are expecting or who have just delivered. "I educate expecting parents on the prenatal needs such as labor and delivery, nutrition, and parenting skills," Fredricks said. "After the baby is born, I work with the parents to make sure the baby is meeting all its milestones like crawling, rolling over, walking, etc., and acting as a sounding board if parents have any questions or concerns."

Throughout her experience at the Health Department, Fredricks believes she has been successful because of the great nursing team. "Even though we only have five nurses, we have a strong knowledge base and are constantly learning from each other," she notes. She also enjoys the fact the Health Department has such a strong presence in the community. "Being a part of the community is really important to me and I feel that I am through the Health Department," Fredricks noted.

We're glad that Micki Fredricks has spent the last 10 years at the Health Department. Her dedication to clients has helped many Cerro Gordo County residents stay in their homes longer!

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Health Department Encourages

Back-to-School Immunizations

With the 2013-2014 school year just around the corner, immunization officials with the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health encourage all parents and caregivers to review their child's immunization records to make sure they are up-to-date.

"There are several convenient ways parents and caregivers can determine if their child is up-to-date on their immunization needs," said Jennifer Stiles, Disease Prevention Specialist, Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health.

Log on to the Iowa Immunization Registry at https://iris.iowa.gov and click on the Public Information Record Access (you will need the child's name, date of birth and social security number or Medicaid number)
Contact the child's medical provider
Contact the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health

Immunizations are a vital invention that have saved millions of lives and prevented hundreds of millions of cases of disease. Getting your children immunized not only saves their lives, but it also protects their friends and classmates who may not be able to receive immunizations for medical reasons. For these children, their vaccinated classmates are their only protection against life-threatening illnesses and diseases.

"Preparing for a new school year is busy for both parents and students," said Stiles. "We encourage parents and caregivers to take some time and review their child's immunization records and contact their local health provider or the health department to schedule appointments to update their immunizations and boosters for a healthy school year."

Students need the following immunizations:

Kindergarten:

Varicella (chicken pox)
DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, Pertussis)
IPV (polio)
MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)

Middle and High School:

Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, Pertussis)
Meningococcal (meningitis)
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) - recommended, but not required.

It is now required by law that adolescents receive the Tdap vaccine when entering the seventh grade.

College:

Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis)
Meningococcal (meningitis)
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
Varicella (chicken pox)

The health department offers two immunization programs that provide vaccines free of charge or at a reduced cost: the Vaccine for Children (VFC) Program and Vaccine Patient Assistant Program (PAP).

The Health Department accepts most major health insurances. With insurance, no money is collected at the time of the vaccination; services are billed directly to insurance. Any remaining balance is billed to the client after insurance has paid for its portion of the service.

The Immunization Clinic is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM - Noon and 12:30 PM - 4:00 PM. The clinic also has late hours every first Monday of each month until 6:30 PM.

For a complete listing of recommended and required immunizations or to see if you qualify for one of our vaccine assistance programs, please call (641) 421-9321 or visit our web site at www.cghealth.com.

Happy August!

School is just around the corner and that means the start of the Walking School Bus Program.

The Walking School Bus Program utilizes adult volunteers to supervise children as they walk to school. The program is aimed to increase physical activity among students and reduce traffic around the schools. It offers parents a safe means for their child(ren) to travel to school. The walking school bus routes are established within one mile of the schools and allow children living along the routes to join the supervised group, as the walking school buses pass their house. For children who live outside of the walking routes, designated walking bus stops are identified for children to be dropped off to join the group. Participating elementary schools are Harding Elementary, Hoover Elementary, Jefferson Elementary and Roosevelt Elementary (all in Mason City).

The fall session runs from September 3 through October 25 and the spring session resumes March 31. Interested adult volunteers are encouraged to be available at least 1-2 days a week from 7:15-8:00 am to serve as a Walking School Bus Leader. To register your children for the program or to sign up as a volunteer, visit www.cghealth.com.

In this month's edition of the Public Health Communicator, we highlight tips and techniques to ensure proper and safe canning of fruits and vegetables. August is National Immunization Awareness Month, so we provide information regarding what immunizations and boosters each age group needs to have a safe and healthy school year. Citizens of the county have a unique opportunity to participate in a cancer prevention study hosted by the American Cancer Society. We'll tell you how to get involved! As always we include the "Day in the Life of" Column and the Wellness Corner. Enjoy!

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date on all the current information surrounding the Health Department. Make sure to check out the left side of our newsletter, which features our Quick Response (QR) Code. Scan it with your smartphone to get directly to our website.

For more information about our services, visit our website at www.cghealth.com.

Best wishes,

Nola Aigner

Public Information Officer

Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health

Canning your garden's best safely and healthily!

It's that time of year where your garden is full of many fruits and vegetables. Canning your delicious fruits and vegetables is a great way to preserve your produce to eat throughout the winter months. Yet, if canning is not done correctly, your vegetables and fruits could be contaminated with botulism, a serious and deadly illness.

Botulism is caused by a germ called Clostridium botulinum. This germ is found in soil, however, it can grow and produce the deadly toxin in a sealed jar. This toxin can affect your nerves, paralyze you, and even cause death. A small amount of food contaminated with botulism can be deadly. Botulism is a serious medical emergency. If you think you may have eaten food containing botulism and are experiencing the following symptoms, seek medical care immediately:

Double vision
Blurred vision
Drooping eyelids
Slurred speech
Difficulty swallowing
Dry mouth
Muscle weakness

Below are tips and techniques to help with proper canning so you can enjoy all your produce all year round.

For starters:

Use a pressure canner or cooker.
Make sure the gauge on the pressure canner or cooker is accurate.
Use current process times and pressures for the kind of food, the size of jar and the method of packing food in the jar.

Use proper canning techniques and equipment:

Always use current food preserving information, which should be scientifically tested. Don't use outdated cookbooks or publications as canning techniques and practices are regularly updated. The National Center for Home Food Preservation at http://nchfp.uga.edu/ provides complete, step-by-step directions on how to properly can your produce.
When canning, always use a pressure cooker or canner. This is the only method recommended for canning meat, fruit, vegetables or seafood. Utilizing a pressure canner kills the germs that can cause botulism.
Do not use boiling water canners. They do not protect against botulism.

When in doubt, throw it out!

Home-canned vegetables are the most common cause of botulism in the United States. Home-canned food could be contaminated if:

The container is leaking, bulging or swollen
The container looks damaged, cracked or abnormal
The container spurts liquid or foam when opened
The food is discolored, moldy or smells bad

If you suspect home-canned food might be contaminated with germs that cause botulism, throw away the food. If food spills anywhere, wipe up the spill using a dilute bleach solution (1/4 cup bleach for each 2 cups of water).

Never taste home-canned food to determine if it's safe. Do not taste or eat foods from containers that are leaking, have bulges or are swollen, or look damaged, cracked or abnormal.

When you open a jar of home-canned food, thoroughly inspect the food. Do not taste or eat foods that are discolored, moldy, or smell bad. Do not eat food from a can that spurted liquid or foamed when it was opened.

Do not open or puncture any unopened cans, commercial or home-canned, if you suspect contamination.

For more information, visit www.cdc.gov or nchfp.uga.edu.

*Information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Help the fight against cancer!

One hundred years ago, the American Cancer Society began the fight of a lifetime - the fight to end cancer. Our community has a unique opportunity to help finish the fight.

The third Cancer Prevention Study of the American Cancer Society will be enrolling participants at select locations in Mason City from September 19 - 21, 2013. As part of enrollment, individuals who choose to participate will simply fill out a comprehensive survey packet about health history, provide a small blood sample (to be collected by trained phlebotomists) and provide a waist measurement. Enrollment will take approximately 20-30 minutes. From that point forward, study participants will be followed over time to update information via periodic, mailed surveys. Your involvement in CPS-3 will help American Cancer Society researchers understand the causes of, and ultimately determine ways to prevent cancer.

If you are willing to make a long-term commitment to the study (which involves completing follow-up surveys periodically over the next 20-30 years), are between the ages of 30 and 65 years old and have never been diagnosed with cancer, then you will want to participate in this study.

If you don't meet the eligibility requirements, your significant participation comes from telling everyone you know about the opportunity to help prevent cancer.

Visit www.cps3masoncity.org, call 1-888-604-5888 or e-mail cps3@cancer.org to learn more about the difference you can personally make in the fight against cancer. Research Today for a Cancer Free Tomorrow!

Wellness Corner

Drink More Water

There's a lot of confusing advice out there about how much water you really need. The truth is that most healthy bodies are very good at regulating water. Elderly people, young children and some special cases - like people taking certain medications - need to be a little more careful.

What You Need to Know about H20

The body regulates how much water it keeps so it can maintain levels of the various minerals it needs to work properly. But every time you breathe out, sweat, urinate or have a bowel movement, you lose some fluid. When you lose fluid, your blood can become more concentrated. Healthy people compensate by releasing stores of water, mostly from muscles. And of course, you get thirsty. That's your body's way of telling you it needs more water.

At a certain point, however, if you lose enough water, your body can't compensate. Eventually you can become dehydrated, meaning that your body doesn't have enough fluid to work properly.

Any healthy person can become dehydrated on hot days, when you've been exercising hard or when you have a disease or condition like diarrhea, in which you can lose a lot of fluid very quickly. But dehydration is generally more of a problem in the elderly, who can have a decreased sensitivity to thirst, and very young children who can't yet tell their parents when they're thirsty.

How much water does your body need? Experts note that you have to consider the circumstances. For example, if you're active on a hot day, you need more water than if you're sitting in an air-conditioned office. An average person on an average day needs about 3 quarts of water a day (12 cups). But if you're out in the hot sun, you'll need a lot more than that.

Signs of dehydration:

Being thirsty
Urinating less often than usual
Having dark colored urine
Dry skin
Feeling tired, dizzy or fainting

If you suspect dehydration, drink small amounts of water over a period of time. Taking too much all at once can overload your stomach and make you throw up. If you are exercising in the heat, sports drinks can be helpful to replace minerals lost in sweat. But avoid drinks that have caffeine, which causes dehydration.

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Thank you for choosing the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health!

Our Mission Statement:

The Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health works to

optimize the health of all people in Cerro Gordo County.

Our Vision Statement:

We will be the leader in making Cerro Gordo County the healthiest

county in Iowa.

Our Value Statement:

We believe in human dignity, respect for individual choices, promotion for wellness and personal safety, protection of the environment, prevention of disease and access to quality health services.

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