Earlier this month, we celebrated National Public Health Week. It’s always been a time to showcase the importance of public health, the variety of issues it encompasses, and even give ourselves a little pat on the back.

This was the third NPHW that Monongalia County Health Department has spent this observance testing and vaccinating members of the community for COVID, while also promoting our other programs.

After all, just because we are living with a pandemic doesn’t mean we no longer need to tend to other health department duties, such as taking care of teeth (MCHD Dentistry); providing all the other types of vaccines (flu, shingles, pneumonia, Tdap, hepatitis A & B, etc.) (Clinical Services); inspecting restaurants, schools, hotels, motels, tattoo studios, and more (Environmental Health); helping expectant and new mothers and caregivers with nutrition and breastfeeding counseling (MCHD WIC); preparing for weather, radiological or other events (Threat Preparedness); and working to reduce opioid use in our community (Monongalia County QRT).

In fact, it’s been an exciting year at Monongalia County Health Department for a few reasons. One is a $1 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) that has allowed us to hire more outreach employees, buy vehicles which we’ve wrapped and branded and taken out into the community to give COVID vaccines and provide vaccine information as well as make a series of radio ads and videos to reach different audiences.

At the same time, we’re ramping up our efforts to treat other public health issues, which has meant moving Environmental Health off-site so we can expand MCHD Dentistry and MCHD Clinical Services. (Threat Preparedness was moved a year ago because of its growth due to the pandemic).

And while the pandemic definitely had negative impacts on opioid use in our community, the rise in online conferencing has expanded the members of the Monongalia County QRT and made it easier for us to provide naloxone, services and treatment options to more people.

After another tough year with COVID, which saw the rise of both the delta and omicron variants, COVID cases are low now as the weather gets warmer. But it’s no time to be complacent. There is another variant, BA2, on the horizon and vaccine boosters are now recommended for individuals 50 and up. 

That’s why we expanded our vaccine hours from 9-11 a.m. on Wednesdays at the WVU Rec Center and on Friday afternoons at MCHD. Sign up online for an appointment at book.novelhealth.ai/MCHDC or call 304-598-5119 to make an appointment at a different time at MCHD Clinical Services. 

If you haven’t gotten a vaccine, why not? Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are about 90-95% effective in preventing the virus and even more effective in preventing serious illness. Our new videos showcase accounts of individuals such as Mayor Jimmy Marino and Debbie Wilfong of Philippi who got COVID before they could get vaccinated. The videos can be viewed on YouTube or at our website at monchd.org/video-library.html.

We realize everyone wants to get back to normal, and to that end, for the first time in three years, MCHD will hold a little lunchtime National Public Health Week celebration in our parking lot this week, thanks to a couple of food trucks (and, coincidentally, MCHD Environmental Health inspects food trucks, among many other entities).

And then we’ll get back to work, helping to keep members of the community safe from COVID and other diseases, through our promotion, prevention and protection efforts.

Being a parent is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. From staying home with a sick child to keeping up with chaotic sports schedules, being a parent requires you to constantly be aware of what is best for your child. 

On top of the regular parenting responsibilities, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the past two years seem even more challenging for families. 

One troubling example of the pandemic’s effect on families with young children has been a significant drop in routine childhood vaccinations.

This is probably a result of two years’ worth of public health recommendations to stay at home. This is also a factor for why many people have neglected their own routine medical and dental checkups, especially during the early months of the pandemic.

This year, April 24-30 is National Infant Immunization Week. This observation is part of the World Health Organization’s World Immunization Week: an initiative to promote immunization, advance equity and universal access to vaccination and enable cooperation on cross-border immunization. 

Parents, this is a great opportunity to think about how your child’s routine medical needs might have been disrupted within the past few years and to make sure you are up to date on every immunization your child needs.

We have now reached the point where COVID-19 vaccines are available to everyone 5 and older, but there are so many more immunizations that are important for your child.

For all you new parents out there: You can protect your baby from 14 serious childhood diseases — such as whooping cough and measles — simply by making sure they have all their recommended vaccinations by age 2.

It can be hard to keep track of so many immunizations, especially on top of other daily parenting responsibilities. But it’s important to stay on track. The CDC provides a helpful immunization schedule for children and adolescents.

Of course, it is also important to often communicate with your child’s pediatrician, your No. 1 source of information for your child’s health needs. 

National Infant Immunization Week is also an opportunity to emphasize just how important childhood immunization is. The COVID-19 pandemic has unfortunately led to skepticism about vaccines and their effectiveness, but vaccines have shown to be one of the most successful and cost-effective public health tools to prevent death and illnesses.

In fact, among children born during 1994-2018, vaccination will prevent an estimated 419 million illnesses, 26.8 million hospitalizations, and 936,000 deaths over their lifetimes.

Immunization is a community effort — something that will only work if we are all in it together. As part of your community, Monongalia County Health Department can help. You can make an appointment for immunizations through MCHD Clinical Services by calling 304-598-5119. 

And don’t forget to consult MCHD WIC for other types of health services for children. MCHD WIC provides nutrition and breastfeeding counseling and food packages to pregnant and postpartum people and children up to the age of 5 who qualify financially.

Yes, you’ve probably heard the message countless times, but it cannot be understated: vaccines are safe and very effective. We all want to see today’s children safe and protected, so protect your children today by making sure they are vaccinated.

Last September, members of the Monongalia County Quick Response Team (QRT), along with dozens of volunteers, handed out more than 1,400 doses of naloxone ¬— which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose — and trained individuals how to use the medication at several stations around the community.

Seven months later, the QRT hopes to exceed those results, with more than 2,000 doses that will be available for another Save a Life Day, held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 7 at 11 locations around Monongalia County. 

And for anyone who would like to join the fight and work as a volunteer, this online signup sheet will allow them to do just that.
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“Our goal is to save as many lives as possible. Recovery is only possible if the individuals are still breathing,” said Jon Dower, director of operations of West Virginia Sober Living and a member of the Monongalia County QRT.

“Education and dispelling myths related to naloxone allow for a reduction in stigma and encourages our community to be part of the solution to this disease plaguing our community and our state.”
 
The opioid epidemic that has afflicted the nation has hit West Virginia and other parts of Appalachia hard. It’s been exactly three years since members of the Monongalia County QRT began meeting at Monongalia County Health Department, which secured grant funding for the group. 

While the COVID pandemic has definitely had negative effects on individuals struggling with addiction, the rise of online virtual meetings, such as Zoom, has allowed our QRT to grow beyond county and state borders and made it much easier to exchange ideas and find solutions to help people.

QRT members also hear about the latest trends of what drugs are out on the streets. "Recently, there has been an increased incidence of fentanyl added to other drugs like cocaine, methamphetamines and ecstasy,” said Joe Klass, chief of operations of MCHD Threat Preparedness and a paramedic.

“There are also numerous reports of fentanyl being pressed into pills to resemble other types of medications,” Klass continued. “These types of counterfeits are often very difficult to spot. One of the takeaways from this is the importance of having naloxone and naloxone training even if you don't think you will have any interactions with opioids or opioid use."        
Dower also believes that individuals should consider having naloxone in first aid kits and medicine cabinets, where it has been vital in saving the lives of children who might sample something or individuals with memory issues who have difficulty taking the correct dosage of their medications.

“The community should understand that not all overdoses are related to substance misuse,” Dower said. “There are accidental ingestions of pain medication by children and the elderly. If a home has opioid pain medication, I also encourage that naloxone also be kept nearby.”

He added: “Through education, our community members can understand warning signs of an opioid overdose and feel prepared to administer this life-saving medication.”

Locations for the second Save a Life Day are: five McDonald’s restaurants — Sabraton, Star City, Westover, Suncrest Towne Centre and Pierpont Center; the green space at the West Virginia University Mountainlair and also at the WVU Rec Center; Pierpont Landing Pharmacy; 7-Eleven in Blacksville; Hotel M on Saratoga Avenue and Woodland United Methodist Church on the Mileground.

For this Save a Life Day, the Monongalia County QRT will not only offer naloxone training and doses, but also, at some locations, COVID vaccines and rapid HIV testing. COVID vaccines will be available at the Sabraton and Westover McDonald’s, the Mountainlair, Hotel M and Woodland United Methodist Church. If you are getting a second COVID dose or a booster, please bring your vaccination card if possible. HIV rapid testing will be conducted at the Sabraton McDonald’s.

Like last year, anyone who wants to learn more about naloxone can visit one of the locations between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. “We’ll just train them as they arrive, however it works best,” said Dan McCawley of WV PEERS, a network of certified peer recovery coaches (PRCs) with lived addiction experience. “If just one person rolls up, we’ll teach them too.”

The Monongalia County QRT is made up of members representing Monongalia County Health Department; WV PEERS; other addiction specialists; law enforcement; EMS; health care workers; social agencies; faith groups and more.

When MECCA 911, EMS or a police department get a report of an individual who has overdosed, it is shared to a HIPAA-compliant Dropbox account. WV PEERS members check reports frequently and try to make contact with the individual within 24 to 72 hours of the incident.

The main goal is to get the person into treatment. However, whether or not the individual is ready to commit to recovery, PRCs can also help with connections to health and social services as well as naloxone.

Between members of WV PEERS and Klass, about 2,200 individual naloxone trainings have been held in Monongalia County since the QRT’s inception, with around 6,000 doses of naloxone distributed.

“The training is fast, easy and, more importantly, it will give participants the knowledge, skills and confidence to save a life,” Klass said. “In medicine, it’s rare to have a drug that is easy to administer, highly effective and that works quickly. Naloxone is all three of these things, and it’s important that we promote its use and give access to this life-saving drug in all populations.”

Added Dower: “I think from watching TV, people think administering naloxone is difficult, but it’s not. Naloxone is a single-use package that goes up one nostril and then it’s pressed. It’s as simple as that. We’re not asking individuals to engage in interactions that involve bodily fluids. It’s a quick administration of medication and the goal is to get 911 involved to get more help.”

Also, instructions on the box provide a quick refresher course for those administering naloxone, he added. Individuals can also watch the QRT’s naloxone video to learn more.
And when Dower has saved someone’s life by using naloxone, he realizes it’s not just that individual he has helped.
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“As a person with a decade in recovery, I understand the impact of substance use disorder on the family,” Dower said. “If I can save someone’s mother, father, sibling or child with naloxone, then I am saving one of the worst experiences of those family members’ lives. Not one person needs to die from an opioid overdose, when there is access and training on naloxone.”

At MCHD Clinical Services, our public health nurses start to see it happening in late summer and early fall. Young patients, often fresh off to college, come to an appointment because maybe they woke up in a strange place after a night out.

“We have mainly WVU students, or young people, leaving home for the first time, going to parties and bars,” said Jennifer Goldcamp, director of nursing at Monongalia County Health Department. 

“And then they drink too much or somebody has slipped something into their drink. They don’t remember what happened, but they know they have been sexually assaulted.”

Just to be clear, Goldcamp said, “When a person is too intoxicated and cannot adequately consent, that’s not OK. That’s not consensual sex.”

These patients are scared about pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and for those issues, MCHD Clinical Services is a great place to go. 

Not only can they be tested for STIs and also get Plan B to prevent pregnancy if it’s within the correct time frame, they will be met with compassionate, non-judgmental nurses who want to help them.

“We deal with a lot of delicate situations, and we’re very sensitive to our patients,” Goldcamp said. “And all of our services are strictly confidential.”

And STI testing and treatment is free, as is the Plan B. 

Of course, as LPN Kayla Sisler notes, for patients who come in right after an assault, the individual can be referred to the Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center in Morgantown. A case worker can accompany them to an emergency department, where a specially trained health care worker can perform a rape exam.

“And they are able to help with emergency housing in case of domestic issues or someone who reports they are unsafe,” Sisler added.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, as recognized by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. West Virginia University will be holding events during the observance month that will educate and support members of the community. Here is a list of events and some descriptions of what they entail.

• Friday, April 8 - Do’s and Donuts of Consent Game Night
6- 8 p.m., Lincoln Hall Abe Cave
• Saturday, April 9 – Walking with Survivors (RDVIC)
3 - 4 p.m. (Registration 2:30 p.m.), Spruce Street Farmers Market Pavilion (Downtown)
• Monday, April 11 – The Clothesline Project
10 a.m. to 3 p.m., WVU Rec Center, ST4 Lot
The Clothesline Project is a visual display of voices and experiences that often go ignored. Each shirt has been decorated by a survivor or someone impacted by sexual harm to honor their strength and provide another avenue for survivors to courageously break the silence that often surrounds their experience.
• Tuesday, April 12 - Self-Care Fair
10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mountainlair Green (Rain location Mountainlair Ballrooms)
The Student Government Association, in partnership with the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the WVU Peer Advocates, Well WVU, Collegiate Recovery, RDVIC, Hearts of Gold, Office of Student Success, Campus Recreation, and WVU Office of Health and Promotions, invites the WVU community to participate in a day of education, nurturing and support that includes chair massages and other self-care options.
• Monday, April 18 – The Clothesline Project
10 a.m. to 3 p.m., WVU Downtown Library
The Clothesline Project is a visual display of voices and experiences that often go ignored. Each shirt has been decorated by a survivor or someone impacted by sexual harm to honor their strength and provide another avenue for survivors to courageously break the silence that often surrounds their experience. 
• Wednesday, April 27 - Denim Day Tabling Event
Noon to 2 p.m., Mountainlair Green
This campaign began in response to a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court. A rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped the person who raped her remove her jeans, thereby implying consent. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Help share the message that there is nothing anyone could ever do to deserve to experience sexual assault. 
If you want to learn more about many different aspects of sexual violence, make time to visit some or all of these events during April. And remember, resources such as the Rape & Domestic Violence Information Center and MCHD Clinical Services are available year-round.