MCHD announces new Health Promotions program as National Public Health Week begins

Apr. 8, 2026

By Mary Wade Burnside

National Public Health Week began Monday, and we at Monongalia County Health Department have some exciting news!
We are in the process of adding a sixth program to our lineup of services. MCHD Health Promotions will focus on community interaction and conducting outreach as another way to meet the needs of the people we serve.
“Health Promotions is really where we are going to focus on outreach, building coalitions and collecting local data so that we can make sure that health department resources are being used to provide the greatest benefit to our community,” said Dr. Brian Huggins, MCHD’s health officer who will also be the Health Promotions program director.
The launch is expected on May 1 and will come with its own separate website from MCHD’s, wildandwonderfulwellness.com, which will be live at the same time as the new program..
Health Promotions began with the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), a survey in which we polled as many different Monongalia County residents of different ages and backgrounds as we could. We asked them about impediments to health care so that we, working with partners, can help mitigate those issues.
The CHNA can be found on MCHD’s website, at www.monchd.org/about. The next stage is the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) and it will also be on the website when it’s completely finished.
Then comes the exciting part: The Wellness Passport. We’ve coordinated with area businesses and recreational areas that will stamp a booklet that will be provided to participants. These partners include gyms, yoga studios, parks and more.
“Everyone who participates will at least get a small prize, like a sticker or a pin,” said Katie Minor, outreach coordinator who helped develop the program.
And participants who earn 24 stamps are eligible for larger prizes, including the grand prize — a six-person cabin at Mountain Creek Cabins, near Coopers Rock State Forest. The drawing will take place in November.
“Our goal is to increase low physical activity levels in the county and increase awareness of existing local resources,” Minor said.
Of course, Monongalia County Health Department has five other programs that are vital to the health of area residents, and we like to highlight them as part of National Public Health Week. They include:
Environmental Health — Sanitarians train food handlers and certified pool operators and inspect many businesses and institutions that serve the public. They also work to manage rabies by investigating reports and distributing oral vaccine rabies (ORV) baits. Sanitarians conduct radon testing, an important service in a county that has a high rate of high levels of radon — 1 in 5 homes compared to 1 in 15 homes nationally.
Clinical Services — Provides immunizations for infants, children, teens, adults and travelers — i.e., everybody — as well as low-cost birth control, low-cost sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, free STI treatment and breast and cervical exams for women. Our public health nurses also can refer patients for mammograms.
MCHD WIC — Provides breastfeeding counseling and support to new mothers as well as nutritional education, supplements and food vouchers to pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women and children up to age 5 who qualify. MCHD WIC oversees this federal program in six counties: Monongalia, Preston, Marion, Harrison, Doddridge and Taylor.
MCHD Dentistry — The only full-service dental office in a health department in West Virginia, MCHD Dentistry offers general preventive dentistry as well as orthodontic (Invisalign), therapeutic (same-day crowns, dentures and implants), and cosmetic (Botox, chairside whitening, porcelain veneers and more). Plus, our mobile unit, Smile Express has expanded its rounds that include schoolchildren in five counties to also visiting patients at recovery centers.
Threat Preparedness — Conducts drills, provides training in CPR, Stop the Bleed, naloxone administration and more. Trains for and responds to crises caused by everything from bad weather to bad people. It’s also the home of the Quick Response Team (QRT), whose members work to reduce opioid use in the region.
Follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn, and check out our website at monchd.org.

Mary Wade Burnside is the public information officer at Monongalia County Health Department.