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Department provides care for residents
By: Holly Kramer, Staff Writer
From free immunizations to reproductive health services to emergency preparedness programs, the Johnson County Health Department offers a wide range of health services.
“We might be the best-kept secret in Johnson County,” Public Information Officer Barbara Mitchell said.
The department has two locations, 11875 S. Sunset Drive, Olathe, and 6000 Lamar Ave., Mission.
Health Director Dr. Leon Vinci said the health department exists to serve the public.
“I think public health is the department that provides the most diversified services of any department,” Vinci said. “I don’t think people understand the health department is their department and their resource. The county did a survey and one out of every five people said they have been involved with the health department.”
In 1943, the Johnson County Health Department began with a health officer on loan from the U.S. Public Health Service and three employees. The department built the Mission office in 1972 and the Olathe office in 1996.
Currently, the health department has 120 employees and provides care to 550,000 residents.
Federal, state and local grants fund the department.
Health education and health promotion are frequently used services, Vinci said.
“We have many free outreach programs where we provide health information to the public,” Vinci said. “The programs are in the general areas of health promotion, but also teaching people how to be protected or prepared for emergency situations and how they can make sure that emergency gets minimized. Our job is to protect the public.”
Health department officials must stay informed about new diseases as well as diseases that have been around for years.
“Diseases make more work for us,” Vinci said. “There are new and emerging diseases all the time. Sometimes old diseases come back. Bacteria changes into drug-resistant strains and it’s harder to fight that bacteria. Then you’ve got problems.”
The department serves a broad range of people.
The Women, Infant & Children, or WIC, program, is for pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants and children up to age 5. Participants must meet income guidelines and be at nutritional risk.
WIC Program Manager Laura Drake said about 7,000 Johnson Countians are enrolled in the WIC program.
“I’ve been here eight years and that number has continually gone up,” Drake said.
Childhood obesity is one of the issues WIC officials deal with.
“We do see a lot of children that are considered overweight, huge problem,” Drake said. “They either drink too much milk or too much juice or are not getting proper nutrition.”
Helping families gain knowledge is an important part of the job, Drake said.
“I like talking to the parents and seeing the kids,” Drake said. “It’s just from knowing that we are helping them get better nutrition and preventative health care.”
Family Health Services Division Director Vicki Hanley said the family planning program is a popular service.
The department has a low number of babies born under five pounds.
“We are real proud in that our low birth (weight) rate is only 2 percent; the national goal is 7.6 percent,” Hanley said. “About 84 percent of women in the prenatal programs are at or below 150 percent of poverty level. They are either uninsured or underinsured.”
Hanley said about 59,000 patients visited Family Health Services in 2007. The staff tries to get prenatal patients enrolled in Medicaid.
“A lot of patients self-pay as much as they can,” Hanley said. “We have a lot of Spanish speaking patients and we do provide interpreters.”
The department’s 2006 annual report showed language and cultural barriers have increased since 2004.
Disease prevention is the department’s main goal, Vinci said.
The department provides immunizations to children and adults and offers international travel vaccines.
Hanley said spending money on prevention is better than the alternative.
“Someone has to take care of these people, which will cost us a lot of money to do, but we will reap the benefits later,” Hanley said. “It takes time and education. Teaching someone to prevent diseases saves a lot of money in the long run.”
Hanley said many people are unaware of how many low-income individuals and families there are in Johnson County.
“The average neighbor probably doesn’t know that over 20,000 residents are at or below the poverty level,” Hanley said. “There are poor people in Johnson County. Employers don’t offer health service. People can be assured that we can provide the care or find someone out in the community. It’s all about prevention because we don’t provide primary care.”
Hanley said she enjoys working in the public health field.
“Public health is only growing,” Hanley said. “There is so much more public awareness since 9-11 and anthrax scares. If there is a bioterrorism attack, public health will need to step up to the plate. It’s under emergency management.
Vinci said the department works with doctors, nurses and other health care professionals for emergency and bioterrorism planning efforts.
Struggling to work with a growing population with limited staff and resources is a challenge, Vinci said.
“We try to be stewards of the taxpayer’s money and better improve ways to provide services. We try and reach these people when no one will see them.
“Johnson County has grown so much and so fast in the last eight to 10 years, we’re trying to maintain and strengthen departmental resources,” Vinci said.
Partnerships within the community help.
“We are perhaps one of the agencies that works most with community partners as a way to get things done in public health,” Vinci said. “It’s important to work with all the agencies. For obesity issues, we work with the park and recreation departments. Sometimes we teach classes for them. We also work with the American Heart Association and run programs in conjunction with them.”
Vinci said the Health Department works with adult care day care facilities, making recommendations for licensure to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The department also provides health and safety information to child care providers and parents.
Johnson County is a highly educated county, Vinci said, which helps as far as people using the department as a resource.
“For the most part, (the residents) understand what they need to be healthy and understand the programs,” Vinci said. “They go to prenatal care, they get immunization shots. Health-wise, we fare pretty well in the state.”
“We’re doing a good job here,” Vinci said. “We’ve got a great staff for sure. They’ve got a heavy workload and they are doing a good job.”
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“We might be the best-kept secret in Johnson County,” Public Information Officer Barbara Mitchell said.
The department has two locations, 11875 S. Sunset Drive, Olathe, and 6000 Lamar Ave., Mission.
Health Director Dr. Leon Vinci said the health department exists to serve the public.
“I think public health is the department that provides the most diversified services of any department,” Vinci said. “I don’t think people understand the health department is their department and their resource. The county did a survey and one out of every five people said they have been involved with the health department.”
In 1943, the Johnson County Health Department began with a health officer on loan from the U.S. Public Health Service and three employees. The department built the Mission office in 1972 and the Olathe office in 1996.
Currently, the health department has 120 employees and provides care to 550,000 residents.
Federal, state and local grants fund the department.
Health education and health promotion are frequently used services, Vinci said.
“We have many free outreach programs where we provide health information to the public,” Vinci said. “The programs are in the general areas of health promotion, but also teaching people how to be protected or prepared for emergency situations and how they can make sure that emergency gets minimized. Our job is to protect the public.”
Health department officials must stay informed about new diseases as well as diseases that have been around for years.
“Diseases make more work for us,” Vinci said. “There are new and emerging diseases all the time. Sometimes old diseases come back. Bacteria changes into drug-resistant strains and it’s harder to fight that bacteria. Then you’ve got problems.”
The department serves a broad range of people.
The Women, Infant & Children, or WIC, program, is for pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants and children up to age 5. Participants must meet income guidelines and be at nutritional risk.
WIC Program Manager Laura Drake said about 7,000 Johnson Countians are enrolled in the WIC program.
“I’ve been here eight years and that number has continually gone up,” Drake said.
Childhood obesity is one of the issues WIC officials deal with.
“We do see a lot of children that are considered overweight, huge problem,” Drake said. “They either drink too much milk or too much juice or are not getting proper nutrition.”
Helping families gain knowledge is an important part of the job, Drake said.
“I like talking to the parents and seeing the kids,” Drake said. “It’s just from knowing that we are helping them get better nutrition and preventative health care.”
Family Health Services Division Director Vicki Hanley said the family planning program is a popular service.
The department has a low number of babies born under five pounds.
“We are real proud in that our low birth (weight) rate is only 2 percent; the national goal is 7.6 percent,” Hanley said. “About 84 percent of women in the prenatal programs are at or below 150 percent of poverty level. They are either uninsured or underinsured.”
Hanley said about 59,000 patients visited Family Health Services in 2007. The staff tries to get prenatal patients enrolled in Medicaid.
“A lot of patients self-pay as much as they can,” Hanley said. “We have a lot of Spanish speaking patients and we do provide interpreters.”
The department’s 2006 annual report showed language and cultural barriers have increased since 2004.
Disease prevention is the department’s main goal, Vinci said.
The department provides immunizations to children and adults and offers international travel vaccines.
Hanley said spending money on prevention is better than the alternative.
“Someone has to take care of these people, which will cost us a lot of money to do, but we will reap the benefits later,” Hanley said. “It takes time and education. Teaching someone to prevent diseases saves a lot of money in the long run.”
Hanley said many people are unaware of how many low-income individuals and families there are in Johnson County.
“The average neighbor probably doesn’t know that over 20,000 residents are at or below the poverty level,” Hanley said. “There are poor people in Johnson County. Employers don’t offer health service. People can be assured that we can provide the care or find someone out in the community. It’s all about prevention because we don’t provide primary care.”
Hanley said she enjoys working in the public health field.
“Public health is only growing,” Hanley said. “There is so much more public awareness since 9-11 and anthrax scares. If there is a bioterrorism attack, public health will need to step up to the plate. It’s under emergency management.
Vinci said the department works with doctors, nurses and other health care professionals for emergency and bioterrorism planning efforts.
Struggling to work with a growing population with limited staff and resources is a challenge, Vinci said.
“We try to be stewards of the taxpayer’s money and better improve ways to provide services. We try and reach these people when no one will see them.
“Johnson County has grown so much and so fast in the last eight to 10 years, we’re trying to maintain and strengthen departmental resources,” Vinci said.
Partnerships within the community help.
“We are perhaps one of the agencies that works most with community partners as a way to get things done in public health,” Vinci said. “It’s important to work with all the agencies. For obesity issues, we work with the park and recreation departments. Sometimes we teach classes for them. We also work with the American Heart Association and run programs in conjunction with them.”
Vinci said the Health Department works with adult care day care facilities, making recommendations for licensure to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The department also provides health and safety information to child care providers and parents.
Johnson County is a highly educated county, Vinci said, which helps as far as people using the department as a resource.
“For the most part, (the residents) understand what they need to be healthy and understand the programs,” Vinci said. “They go to prenatal care, they get immunization shots. Health-wise, we fare pretty well in the state.”
“We’re doing a good job here,” Vinci said. “We’ve got a great staff for sure. They’ve got a heavy workload and they are doing a good job.”