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HamCoHealth@Work |
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3rd Quarter |
Volume 1, Issue 1 |
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Hamilton County Public
Health We’re
on the Web!
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From the Hamilton County Health Commissioner
Keeping Your Community AHEAD of Health Issues Every year, Hamilton County Public Health provides the communities it serves with a Community Health Report. In our opinion, once a year is not enough. Today’s information age has given us the tools to report to you 24-hours-a-day on a number of health indicators affecting our communities. We have recently launched an exciting new tool that will allow us to share health information with our region while allowing you to focus on community-specific issues and information. Called Community AHEAD (Access to Hamilton County Epidemiology and Assessment Data), this tool will help you develop your own community health assessment, efficiently identify health issues and develop interventions. There are four “indicator” categories from which you can access a variety of regional and community data – maternal and infant health; communicable disease; mortality; and injury. The AHEAD tool allows you to compare your community’s performance with other areas in the County, as well as with the County as a whole. To access the AHEAD tool, visit www.hamiltoncountyhealth.org and click on the Community AHEAD link from the homepage. There is a training video available to help you get started. If you would like to schedule training for your community on how to access and use the tool, call Ted Folger, Director of Epidemiology, 513-946-7924. We’re sure you’ll agree that access to this powerful tool provides a far more robust and actionable Community Health Report than those previously available. Beginning the first of this year, Hamilton County Public Health took over STD/HIV investigating and reporting for cases in Hamilton County. This is an entirely grant-funded program and has no effect on fee structures for our core services. We are in the midst of a syphilis epidemic in Hamilton County. The disease has been found in disproportionately high numbers among African Americans (80 percent of confirmed cases in the past two years), with the highest numbers occurring in the 15-24 years-of-age group (44 percent of cases). The incidence of syphilis in our (Hamilton County) population is five-10 times higher than that of other urban areas in Ohio. Not only syphilis, but all STDs in Hamilton County are high compared to the rest of the state (and the rest of the country, for that matter). Our area is fortunate in that we have one of best healthcare networks in the country. We have great resources in our regional health care system, to help us partner and work to reverse these trends. It is often mistakenly believed that syphilis and other STD cases are confined to the inner city. While the majority of cases are visible in urban areas, there is no doubt that syphilis is present throughout the County. This epidemic is a problem that affects all of us in the region. With help from our new team of specialists, along with the area’s healthcare system, we’re working to dramatically reduce the number of cases over time. Join Txt4Health – it’s FREE!
Warm weather is here and with spring/summer come seasonal public health issues. Visit our website at hamiltoncountyhealth.org for the latest information on: · Swimming pool care and treatment · Festival and farm market food safety · BBQ and food handling safety Feel free to use any of the content contained in these fact sheets or on our website, with credit to Hamilton County Public Health. |
Hamilton County Public Health, 250 William Howard
Taft Rd., 2nd Floor, Cincinnati, OH 45219
Phone: 513-946-7800; Web: www.HamiltonCountyHealth.org; Social Media: HamCoHealth