Community Health Director discusses lead testing for county?s children

By MEGAN COOPER

Mt. Pleasant News

The lead program at Community Health in Mt. Pleasant is doing well, but does have some hitches.

According to Community Health Director Travis Johnson, the program is testing anywhere from 15 to 30 kids a month for lead levels.

?They can get these tests done at the office or at WIC offices as well,? said Johnson. ?They can even get tested at Head Start. We had one issue this year, though, something that hasn?t happened before. We had one child who was tested and had a high lead level.

?We tried calling the home, testing inside the home, etc. But no one ever answered and we couldn?t make contact. That?s the only issue with this, there is no mandate saying they have to let us in. We were concerned of course for the health and welfare of the child, but we did what we could. On a positive note, we did find out from the child?s doctor that the child was tested again and the levels had gone down, so that?s a good sign. If they hadn?t, I?m sure we would have a different conversation now,? said Johnson.

Johnson is still concerned about what will happen with the Community Transformation Grant (CTG) runs out in September.

?We still have a lot of work to figure out,? said Johnson. ?We have some programs that were two or three years in the future to be completed and now, we have to figure out what we can do now.?

The CTG is an $88,000 grant that helped to fund various activities for Community Health and Healthy Henry County Communities.

?The federal government decided that it was done. We were promised more years than this, but they cut it short because they ran out of funding,? explained Johnson. ?They handed down some alternatives, but nothing fits our needs. We did find one decent alternative but we didn?t fit the criteria to be a part of that grant. It was for small counties, and the government deemed counties with a population of 50,000 as a small county. We are way under that, and honestly, I don?t know that that is a small county because Iowa only has 10 counties with that number.?

The CTG help to give local restaurants the opportunity to make their menus healthier. It provided funding for new menus, advertising and signage to promote the new healthier options.

?Without the grant, I don?t know what will happen,? said Johnson. ?We are running out of time and it really did change things.?

Johnson reported that the Transition in Care program that the Henry County Health Center shares with the University of Iowa is going well.

?Currently, we have 25-30 people who are active clients in the program,? said Johnson. ?It?s been a tremendous help and it helps to keep those patients out of the hospital.?

The program, which is only designated for patients at the University of Iowa at this time, follows patients who are released from the hospital with a medical diagnosis or mental health issue. It follows up two or three days after the patient returns home and helps the patients settle back into the home.

?The program helps to provide resources in the community, help with medication and so much more,? explained Johnson. ?It is designed to keep the patient out of the hospital.?

The board, during the meeting, also approved:

? FY15 Lead Grant ? This grant, according to Johnson, lost about 20 percent of its funding this year, but has also lowered the amount of work involved.

? FY15 Healthcare Preparedness Coalition Grant ? This grant was reduced by about $2,000 from last year, but Johnson expects it to be amended and the resources made available. The grant is for $41,406.

? FY15 Care for Yourself Grant ? This program, which is designed to help women with no insurance get mammograms and such, has been reduced this year as well. ?Since the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, this program has suffered. It was for women with no insurance and now you have to have insurance, so the numbers are down,? said Johnson. The program asked for 80 women to be involved in the pgoram last year, this year, the program will only ask for 69, and for each woman signed up, $105 will be given back. The funding will be $7,245.

? FY15 Local Public Health Services Grant ? This grant has remained unchanged and is for $64,439.

The Board of Health will meet again in regular session on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at 12:30 p.m. The location of the meeting will be announced at a later date.