As we told you earlier this week, Guthrie County Public Health is in the process of conducting their Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The CHNA is a county-wide study, which ultimately comes up with the greatest overall health issues. Last time around, a major issue was childhood diabetes. Guthrie County’s Health Administrator Jotham Arber says it’s a community effort to improve overall health. “So, we’ve gone to schools, they have the information they need. The school nurses know about it, they can identify signs, and notify parents. We’ve talked with physicians, so when they’re screening children, so they can work with children, or send them to us so we can help them get the services they need. That’s exactly what we’ll be doing this time around, looking at childhood diabetes, obesity and COPD, which is big in the County, probably because of the farming that’s done.”

Arber says he would like to focus more on health issues related to farming in Guthrie County, notably mentioning COPD, and skin cancer in relation to prolonged and unprotected sun exposure.

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To date, Stuart Rescue has raised over $7,000 of the $13,500 needed to purchase a new LUCAS  Chest Compression System. $2,000 came from donations raised at this past weekend’s Stuart Rescue luncheon at West Central Valley High School. The LUCAS machine acts as an extra pair of hands by performing automated CPR. But unlike a person, the machine never gets tired. Donations are still needed and can be sent to PO Box 370, Stuart, Iowa 50250.

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Adair and Guthrie County’s Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Kempf recently attended a regional meeting in Creston, which talked about the increasing issue and danger of child abductions. Kempf says as a tip to parents, if they don’t know where their child is, it’s best to alert the authorities sooner than later. “Basically what they’re saying, is the way things are going in this day and age, with the amount of abductions there are, that they should contact law enforcement pretty much immediately.”

Kempf will be our guest tomorrow on Let’s Talk Guthrie County to talk more about child abduction safety tips and prevention.

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February is Heart Month, and Guthrie County Extension is making sure that you’re eating sodium-rich foods in moderation in order to keep your heart at optimal health. Extension’s Vicki Frohling says these foods have some of the highest levels of sodium; breads, cold cuts, pizza, poultry, soup and sandwiches. Medical experts recommend limiting sodium ingestion to 1500 milligrams a day.

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The City of Guthrie Center has updated their website with a new calendar where community events may be posted. The City says the calendar will be more than just a monthly list, and will display events on a daily basis. If you have any questions, or would like to add an event to the city calendar, you can call 332-2190, or email cityhall@guthriecenter.com .