The Public Health Strategy for Protecting Our Communities from Ebola

Public health agencies across the nation are working diligently to monitor travelers from Ebola-affected countries to protect the health of the public. In Colorado, the traveler monitoring program set up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began in August of 2014. Travelers from the three Ebola affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone) are closely monitored as soon as they arrive in the United States at one of five international airports (New York, Virginia, Atlanta, Chicago or Newark). While Jefferson County Public Health, in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), continues to monitor a small number of travelers who have returned from Ebola-affected countries, there are currently no suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola in Jefferson County.

View the JCPH Active Traveler Monitoring Program Fact Sheet

CDC/CDPHE and JCPH maintain efforts to ensure we have the most effective strategy possible to respond to a potential case of Ebola in Jefferson County. CDPHE and all of our County partners are strongly committed to protecting your health. Ongoing local public health activities include:

• Tracking and monitoring travelers returning to Jefferson County from affected West African countries;
  
• Supporting hospital preparedness efforts with education and information as they plan and prepare to medically support an individual with suspected or confirmed Ebola;
  
• Improving and refining County-wide protocols to effectively handle a suspected or confirmed case of Ebola in Jefferson County.

Download the JCPH Ebola Disease Fact Sheet

For more information about Ebola, please view the CDC web site .
Information is also available on the CDPHE web site.

For more information contact Jefferson County Public Health’s Emergency Preparedness Program at
303-271-8394 or email Christine Billings at mailto:cbilling@jeffco.us.

First time Moms . . . Here’s a program just for you!

Connect with Nurse Family Partnership

Nurse-Family Partnership® (NFP) is an evidence-based, community health program that helps transform the lives of vulnerable mothers pregnant with their first child. Each mother served by the program is partnered with a registered nurse early in her pregnancy and receives ongoing nurse home visits that continue through her child’s second birthday. Independent research proves that communities benefit from this relationship — every dollar invested in Nurse-Family Partnership can yield up to five dollars in return. Nurse-Family Partnership is based on more than 35 years of research from randomized, controlled trials that prove it works. Nurse-Family Partnership produces multi-generational outcomes that benefit communities and eliminate the costs of long-term social service programs. For example, the following outcomes have been observed among participants in at least one of the trials of the program:

• 48% reduction in child abuse and neglect 

• 56% reduction in emergency room visits for accidents and poisonings 

• 59% reduction in arrests at child age 15 

• 67% reduction in behavioral and intellectual problems at child age six 

• 72% fewer convictions of mothers at child age 15

In addition, Nurse-Family Partnership services have shown decreases in the number of families enrolled in Medicaid and food stamps programs, as well as improvements in pregnancy outcomes, health status, school achievement, parental employment and family stability. Help a first time mom you may know connect with NFP and change lives for the better.

For more information:

• Contact NFP: Mary Beth Mary Beth Wenger, Program Supervisor at 303-239-7074 or email: mwenger@jeffco.us
• Learn more about the Jefferson County Public Health Nurse Family Partnership program.

Excellence in Food Safety Class Celebrates 20 Years

Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) is celebrating the 20th Anniversary of its Excellence in Food Safety Class (EFS) on September 10th, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. during the Food Safety Forum, which is held each month at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. The celebration offers an opportunity to thank the many individuals, food safety operators and food handlers who have made food safety their mission during National Food Safety Education Month this September 2013.

The Excellence in Food Safety (EFS) Class was developed in 1993 by dedicated staff in the Jefferson County Public Health Food Safety Program and an enthusiastic group of local restaurant owners and operators. The EFS class was one of the first in the state provided by a local health department.

Dave Hooker, supervisor of the JCPH Food Safety Program explains, “Several food handlers from the Lakewood Country Club attended the first class. Since then over 9,000 food handlers from hundreds of Jefferson County restaurants, schools, and grocery stores have taken the class and improved their food handling and preparation techniques.”

The decision to develop a classroom style food safety class was triggered by several foodborne illness incidents that occurred in the early 1990s and raised awareness nationwide of the importance of food safety. These included the 1993 Jack in the Box E coli 0157:H7 outbreak and the 1993 Milwaukee outbreak of Cryptosporidiosis associated with water.

Today’s EFS Classes continue to be current and cover the latest in food safety information in addition to any updates in the Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules & Regulations. Students are able to participate in hand washing demonstrations, pop quizzes, and a final quiz to test their food safety knowledge. The cost of the class hasn’t changed much in twenty years. It is only $10.00. “We want to keep the cost low so that as many food handlers as possible can attend”, said Dave Hooker.

To sign up for a class, contact Jefferson County Public Health at 303-271-5700 or view our web page and download the class brochure. A convenient online class is also available in 5 languages at www.jeffco.statefoodsafety.com.

Brain Injury Awareness

A brain injury can happen anytime, anywhere, to anyone. The numbers are alarming. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a contributing factor to a third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the U.S. 
• Almost half a million (473,947) emergency department visits for TBI are made annually by children aged 0 to 14 years. 
• Adults aged 75 years and older have the highest rates of TBI-related hospitalization and death. 

These numbers can be dramatically reduced by paying special attention to injury prevention. Jefferson County Public Health urges everyone to learn more about preventing falls, motor vehicle safety and wearing appropriate protective gear when participating in sports and other activities.

The JCPH Health Care Program for Children with Special Needs (HCP) assists families with children with TBI and other conditions. Call 303-239-7006 or visit JCPH Health Care Program for Special Needs for more information.

Taking care of your brain also means feeding it properly. Healthy foods help create healthy minds. Wild salmon, blueberries, black beans, walnuts, carrots and oats are all healthy foods that are also good for your brain. View the JCPH Superfoods handout.

Attention: Jefferson County Food Service Establishments

Revisions to the Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations will take effect March 1, 2013. To ensure operators are familiar with the revisions, the Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability has worked in collaboration with State Food Safety to develop an online training of the major changes to the revised Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations. This training is available for a fee of $2.50 for any retail food operator or food handling employee that wishes to take the course. For more information view the JCPH food safety web page.

In addition the JCPH Excellence in Food Safety Program celebrates its 20th anniversary this year! Consider taking a class on safe food handling and preparation.

Health Care Access

Finding yourself without health care can be a scary thing. Jefferson County Public Health is here to help. There are programs to assist you and your family get the care you need.

If you are Pregnant and need immediate prenatal care- Please call 303-232-6301 for Presumptive Eligibility. This program, based on eligibility, can get you the care you need while you are waiting to be approved for Medicaid.

If you are Pregnant and have children- Please call Jefferson County Human Services department at 303- 271-1388 for information on how to get your family covered with Medicaid. While you are waiting for Medicaid approval, you might consider applying for Presumptive Eligibility (listed above) so that your unborn baby can get a healthy start.

If you are already on Medicaid but need help finding medical, dental, vision, or mental health care– Contact Healthy Communities at 303-239-7041. They can assist you in finding the correct care for you and your family.

If you have children and have applied for Medicaid but have been declined- You may be eligible for CHP+. This program can help you get medical care for your children under the ages of 18. There is a small annual fee and co-pays are based on factors such as income and family size. Please call 303-751-9051 for more information.

There is also help for all children enrolled in the R-1 School District. All children who are actively enrolled can apply to get Medicaid for their families through school. For more information, please call 303-982-7276.

Injury Facts Hurt . . . Colorado had the 17th Highest Rate of Injury Deaths in U.S.

“The Facts Hurt: A State-by-State Injury Prevention Policy Report” recently released by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), highlights injuries as a major public health problem in the United States and concludes that millions of injuries could be prevented each year if more states adopted additional research-based injury prevention policies, and if programs were fully implemented and enforced. According to the report, injuries – including those caused by accidents and violence -- are the third-leading cause of death nationally – and they are the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 1 and 44. One person dies from an injury every three minutes. Every year, injuries lead to $406 billion in lifetime costs for medical care and lost productivity.

Injury Prevention is a Colorado Winnable Battle. JCPH’s Injury Prevention Program works with partners at the state and local levels on a variety of injury prevention initiatives, including safe driving, safe sleep and fall prevention. Read Report  >>  view web site  >>  view Colorado page

Handouts to use:   Fall Prevention     >>   Safe Sleep    >>    Teen Driving     >>   JCPH Student PSA video