Wednesday, October 11th, 2017
Local health agency ready for flu season
Shot clinic called success
By Ed Gebert
CELINA - Activity leading up to flu season is just beginning in Mercer County.
Health district epidemiologist Deb Scheer told health board members on Tuesday that activity is increasing with one influenza-associated hospitalization case reported in September and a successful drive-thru flu clinic held at the Mercer County Fairgrounds on Oct. 3.
Health district employees administered 461 flu shots at the event, down from about 530 in 2016. Scheer said the reduction is due to the increased availability of the vaccines at area drug and discount stores.
District workers also administered 1,049 various vaccines in September, Scheer said.
Accreditation coordinator Jason Menchhofer said the district has begun to apply for accreditation. The application was sent to the state in late September.
Menchhofer also must complete accreditation coordinator training within the next few months.
"Then we'll be ready to start uploading the required documents," he said.
Mercer County is only the second health district in the region to begin the application process, behind only Allen County. Ohio law requires all county health departments to be accredited by 2020. To reach that deadline, health districts must begin the application process by June 30, 2018.
In other action, members,
• issued orders to the owners of two dogs, one on West Butler Street in Fort Recovery and one on Dogwood Circle in Celina, to provide proof of current rabies vaccinations to the district.
• officially disbanded the licensing council, a body no longer required by the state. The council had been formed to appoint a member to sit on the board of health to give food license holders input into health district fees and requirements. That representative, Julie Fleck, will continue as a board member.
• approved an updated policy on reimbursement of expenses after the use of personal credit cards for district business.
• met for 45 minutes in executive session to address pending litigation involving the district. No action was taken concerning those issues.
