This week is National Public Health Week.

Guthrie County Health Services Director Jotham Arber says that Public Health Departments are an essential service, and something many see as important, but that some may not realize what all they do. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that when the Covid pandemic started, they began helping with immunizations and vaccines on a larger scale than they already had been. Arber shares some of the other things that Public Health does.

“Health departments work in conjunction with every aspect of health. So, whether that’s, you know, we saw it during the pandemic, it was working on disease prevention and a follow up from a viral outbreak. Public health departments had to gear up to provide vaccinations and provide resources for testing and all of those kinds of things. But public health as a whole works very closely with communities to increase health before those things even get there. From health education, you’ll see us doing a lot of talks and educational classes with students on the things that we eat and exercising, as well as some of the emergency things that we participate in, CPR classes, and emergency preparedness.”

Arber mentions that the Public Health Department also helps the county with water quality through the Environmental Health program, checking septic tanks and wells in rural areas, as well as helping cities check their sewer and water systems. He adds that one thing that may be a little more unique to Guthrie County Public Health, is the mental health services they provide, with two mental health specialists and a service worker now on staff in that department.