Investigation into Mt. Union?s sanitary issues continues

By Bryce Kelly, Mt. Pleasant News

The Henry County Board of Health is waiting for further instruction before commenting on some possible health violations currently taking place at five Mt. Union residences.

During the Henry County Board of Health?s regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Henry County Environmental Health Specialist, Jodi Sutter informed the board that there are at least five properties in Mt. Union that may not be following health regulations in regard to sanitary sewer treatment.

?I have been informed by the RUSS (Regional Utility Service Systems) board that there are properties that either have had shut-off valves installed where people are still currently residing, or have properties that are inhabited that aren?t hooked up to a proper system,? said Sutter.

Sutter says she has been in contact with both the Department of Natural Resources and the Henry County Attorney about how to proceed in further investigating the issue. She informed the board that the county attorney is currently in the process of drafting warning letters to those properties that were identified by RUSS as possibly being in violation of health codes.

?At this point, we are on somewhat of a fact-finding mission to find out what these properties are doing, and then hopefully we can work with these property owners to get them in compliance if they are not already,? said Sutter.

After hearing Sutter?s report on the issue in Mt. Union, the board moved to hold any public comment on the issue until the county attorney and/or Sutter come back to them with additional information on the problem at hand.

Moving on to other items, the board heard a report from Henry County Public Health nurse, Cindy Litchfield. Litchfield discussed the various programs that she and her team of nurses oversee, including the Newborn Home Visitor program, the Maternal Health program, the Lead Testing program, and the Care For Yourself program.

According to Litchfield, the Newborn Home Visitor program is usually the most fluctuating program her team deals in as it is dependent on the number of babies being born at Henry County Health Center, the number of babies residing in Henry County, but born at other local hospitals, or the number of Henry County parents who want to be part of the program. According to Litchfield, her staff made three home visits in the month of January as part of the program.

Other information presented by Litchfield included:

? The Maternal Health program, which assists women who are currently pregnant with pregnancy education and helpful health-related resources, assisted 10 patients in the month of January. The program can also assist women up to six weeks after they have delivered their baby.

? Roughly 11 elevated lead cases were investigated in 2016 as part of the Henry County Public Health Lead program. The program can screen children up to six years of age for elevated lead levels. If levels present higher than what is considered healthy, Litchfield will work with the child?s parents to address the issue. No elevated lead cases were investigated in the month of January.

? The Care For Yourself program strives to serve roughly 35 women by May 19, 2017, as per program guidelines. The program works to prevent and identify both breast and cervical cancer in women.

Finally, the board got a quick update on the Henry County I-Smile dental program. As part of the program, local I-Smile Coordinators work with public schools throughout the state to help implement school dental screenings for students in kindergarten and ninth-grade. These coordinators can assist families with finding follow-up care at a dental clinic as needed. I-Smile Coordinators can also provide information and technical assistance to both schools and local boards of health on dental hygiene issues.

According to the report, two Henry County children were identified as having urgent dental care needs during a countywide school dental screening. In addition, only 15 percent of the children screened in the same age bracket were identified as having some kind of non-urgent dental care need.

The next Henry County Board of Health meeting will be held on March 28, 2017, at noon, at Henry County Health Center?s Public Health Conference Room.