Martin County Health Department

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Archive for April, 2010

The Reality Store is coming

April 28th, 2010

Time for the reality of Life

Martin County Health will participate in the Reality Store on May 13, 2010 at Sheldon Clark High School. Students arriving at our table will learn about the high cost of medical and dental care.

In this exercise students begin to understand, the more education they have the better qualified they will be for the best paying jobs and the benefits they offer.

The health department has participated in this event since its inception many years ago. Hope to see you at our table.

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Job Opening for Nurse

April 26th, 2010

JOB OPENING

MARTIN COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

LOCAL HEALTH NURSE II

The Martin County Health Department is accepting applications for a full-time Local Health Nurse II.

Starting Salary: $14.78 – $18.63/hr negotiable with additional experience. Grade 18

Applications and full listing of qualifications may be obtained at the Martin County Health Department, 136 Rockcastle Road, Inez, KY OR online at http://chfs.ky.gov/dph/LHD.htm Completed application and transcript must be returned by close of business May 11, 2010 to Martin County Health Department, 136 Rockcastle Road, P.O. Box 346, Inez, KY 41224 to be given full consideration for this position.

Applications accepted after the closing date will be given consideration for future openings as they occur.

Resume will not substitute for completed application.

If there is a lack of qualified applicants for the Local Health Nurse II classification, the position may be filled from Local Health Nurse I register. Starting salary 14.07 to 17.56 Grade 15.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Applicants and employees in this classification may be required to submit to a drug screening test and background check.

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Candlelight Ceremony – In memory of those who lost their lives to drugs or alcohol.

April 23rd, 2010

Candlelight Ceremony

May 8^th, 2010 at 7:00 PM

Mountain Homeplace Amphitheater

The lives lost to drugs or alcohol will be remembered in the candlelight ceremony. Please contact Drug Court at 606-789-9811 giving the name of your loved one and if you want a picture.

Sponsored By: Drug Court

May is Drug Court Awareness Month

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Posted in Community Events

May 25 – Luncheon for Expectant Moms

April 15th, 2010

Let’s Celebrate!!!!!

Luncheon for Expectant Moms

May 25 at 12:00 pm

(RSVP encouraged)

A light lunch with refreshments will be served. Topics for discussion will include: Nutrition during 1st, 2nd and 3rd Trimesters, Nutrition for Baby: Breastfeeding vs Formula and Art of Skin.

Contact C’onia Fitch, Martin County Health Department’s Breastfeeding Peer Counselor, at

606-298-7752

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Posted in Announcements, Health Events, WIC

Kingfisher Trail Opening May 8

April 15th, 2010

Nursing staff members from the Martin County Health Department will be available on May 8, 2010 at 10 AM for the dedication of the Kingfisher Trail located just behind and up the mountain from the Roy F. Collier Community Center.

The nurses will be doing blood pressures at the beginning of the trail and also at the top of the mountain.

Event goers who stop by the health department tables will also receive a bag of goodies and information about services at the health department.

Participants who hike to the top of the mountain to the log cabin and one room school will be entertained with a historic monolog written by well known retired educator, Mr. Tom Dials. The scene gives one a look at the life, the humor and the hard times of families around the early 1900’s.

We encourage everyone to enjoy the day long event. You may contact the R F Collier community Center for more information. The following schedule of events was provided to the health department.

Grand Opening begins at 10:00AM in the Mainstreet Cinemas Movie Theatre

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

10:00 Movie of inspiration of Kingfisher Branch and God’s Promise Trails

10:20 Opening Speakers

10:45 Guided Tour of Community Center

SCHEDULED WALKS

11:00 Rhonda Jean’s ZUMBA/ Fitness Walk

11:10 Forestry, Bill Knott’s Guided Nature Walk (Trees)

11:30 Mad Dog’s Low Impact Fitness Walk

11:45 Naturalist, Jim Stewart’s Guided Nature Walk (Ferns and Flowers)

12:15 Blake and Mad Dog’s High Impact Fitness Walk

TRAILHEAD ACTIVITIES

12:00 Pat’s Line Dance Instruction

12:30 Roger’s Live Music at Outdoor Classroom

12:30 Soup Beans and Cornbread at Trailhead

2:00 Outdoor Drama at Log Cabin staring Darryl and Ruby Clark as Ma and Pa

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Posted in Announcements, Health Events

Sheldon Clark students participate in Kick Butt Day

April 15th, 2010

April 14, 2010, Inez, Kentucky - The Tobacco Control Program of the Martin County Health Department would like to recognize the L.I.N.K.S. Youth and Family Resource Center at Sheldon Clark High School for their school’s participation in Kick Butts Day. Especially Mr. Baldridge’s first period AP European history class for winning the school wide competition by collecting the most amount of canned food items.

Kick Butts Day is a national day set aside each year to encourage smokers to kick the smoking habit.

Each of the school’s Family Resource Centers was invited to encourage each classroom to collect canned food items to be donated to local food pantries. Each can was to be labeled with health facts regarding tobacco use or the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. The class in each school with the greatest number of canned food items could win a pizza party sponsored by the Martin County Health Department.

The Director of the LINKS FRC, Terri Simpkins was very instrumental in getting the word out to students and faculty about the Kick Butts Day competition.

The class that won was Mr. Baldridge’s first period AP European history class. Mr. Baldridge reported the students enjoyed the assignment and learned a great deal about the harmful effects of tobacco. One student learned about third hand smoke for the first time. Mrs. Simpkins reported she was able to use some of the food almost immediately to help a family in need. Two good things were accomplished, students learned, and a family had food to eat because of the effort of these 27 tremendous students and one outstanding instructor, and one committed resource center director.

The Martin County Health Department is looking forward to work again with the county’s Family Resources Centers in November for the Great American Smoke-Out.

The Great American Smoke-Out is held in November each year. The focus of the event is to get smokers to stop smoking for 24 hours. A pizza party for the winning classroom in each school would be just as tasty in November as it was last week. Details of the competition will be released in October to the center directors.

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Posted in Health Events, Tobacco Cessation

Ten Tobacco Users Kick the Habit

April 14th, 2010

April 14, 2010, Inez, Kentucky – Ten former tobacco users were acknowledged Tuesday April 13 at a ceremony at the Martin County Health Department for completing the Cooper-Clayton Smoking Cessation Program.

The Cooper-Clayton Smoking Cessation Program is a 13-week program that helps participants stop smoking with peer support, educational guidance and nicotine replacement therapy.

Health Department Tobacco Coordinator Geneva Wallen was extremely proud of the accomplishments of these ten individuals. Many have tried countless times in the past to quit the habit. Participants have had much success with the Cooper-Clayton program because it combines nicotine replacement therapy with a weekly support group. As many as 45 percent of heavy smokers who use the Cooper-Clayton method, successfully stop smoking. The graduates of the program can boast of not using tobacco products since January.

Geneva would like to encourage anyone in the community who needs help overcoming tobacco addiction to call the Martin County Health Department and sign up.

A session of the Cooper-Clayton Smoking Cessation Program will start on April 20. Cooper-Clayton is a comprehensive, 13-week program that helps participants stop smoking with peer support, educational guidance and nicotine replacement therapy. The classes will meet from 11 to 12 p.m. on Tuesdays, starting April 20, at the Martin County Health Department, 136 Rockcastle Road, Inez, Kentucky.

The last chance to enroll in this session will be during the Tuesday April 27 class.

The Cooper-Clayton classes are $1 (one dollar) per class which includes the cost of program book and nicotine patches, gum or lozenges.

To register for the Cooper-Clayton classes, please call 298-7752 or stop by the Martin County Health Department, 136 Rockcastle Road, Inez, Kentucky.

For more information about the classes or the Health Department’s tobacco program, please call Geneva Wallen at 298-7752 or visit www.martincountyhealth.org.

Pictured are five graduates of the Cooper-Clayton Smoking Cessation Method, along with Martin County Health Department Tobacco Coordinator Geneva Wallen.

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Posted in Announcements, Health Events, Tobacco Cessation

April 29 – Free Vascular Screenings

April 8th, 2010

King’s Daughters Medical Center will be offering free screening to detect peripheral arterial disease on April 29 at Dr. Lon Lafferty’s office. Appointment will be required. See KDMC press release below:

Appointment Required

Call 1.888.377.KDMC (5362)

Free Vascular Screenings scheduled April 29 in Inez, Ky.

One in five Americans over age 65 suffer from peripheral arterial disease (PAD), but only about 20 percent get the recommended treatment, according to the American Heart Association. PAD is a serious condition that, left untreated, could lead to amputation or death.

King’s Daughters Medical Center, in cooperation with the Kentucky Heart Foundation (KHF), is offering a free screening to detect PAD. The screening will begin at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, April 29, on the KDMC Mobile Health Unit at Dr. Lon Lafferty’s office, Route 40 East Blacklog, Inez, Ky.

KDMC physician assistant James Dalton will review results with participants immediately following the screening. Appointments are required and may be made by calling 1.888.377.KDMC (5362).

The screening is open to persons over the age of 50 and is recommended for those who:

have leg pain when walking that goes away when at rest;
have a family history of vascular disease;
use or have used tobacco products;
have poor circulation or swelling (edema) of the legs and ankles.

Additional screening criteria apply, which allow KDMC to see those most at risk for PAD.

The vascular screening consists of:

Fasting lipid profile – This test will give a breakdown of HDL and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol
Ankle brachial index (ABI) screening – Blood pressures measurements are taken at the ankles and arms and compared to determine whether there is decreased blood flow to the legs
Blood glucose – Level of sugar in the blood. Studies have shown those with diabetes are at increased risk for vascular disease.
Electrocardiogram (EKG) – A non-invasive test to measure electrical activity to the heart by attaching electrodes to the skin

KHF is a nonprofit organization working to improve the life expectancy of people affected by cardiovascular disease. The foundation oversees cardiac research, education and prevention programs and is closely linked with the heart and vascular specialists at KDMC.

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Posted in Health Events