MCHD: Mobile County Health Department launches a new era in public health

Dr. Bernard Eichold speaks with reporters after a news conference Monday

Sept. 30, 2013, on the state of health in Mobile County. The agency's new logo

can be seen behind the health officer in the third floor media room.

MOBILE, Alabama -- Health Officer Dr. Bernard Eichold, who leads the Mobile County Health Department, said Monday that agency leaders are renewing their commitment to serve the public by promoting, improving and protecting the health of those who live in coastal Alabama. Eichold unveiled a new logo on Monday, Sept. 30, 2013 to serve as a visible reminder that the 495-employee strong agency takes its mission seriously.

Eichold also addressed the state of health in Mobile County during a news conference Monday, talking about how residents ranked alongside their counterparts in Alabama and beyond on several key health and quality of life indicators.

The idea is that by making people more aware of how certain risky behaviors -- such as overindulging in highly processed foods and sugary sodas, not wearing a seatbelt or engaging in unprotected sex – negatively affect their overall health, they can be encouraged to take positive steps to improve quality of life issues. 

Here are some of the topics he talked about:

Causes of death -- In Mobile County, heart disease is the leading cause of death, with a rate of 237.1 per 100,000 people dying from the disorder annually, health statistics show. In Alabama, the rate is slightly higher with 251.8 per 100,000. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Mobile County, with 226.2 people dying per 100,000 annually. The rate for all of Alabama is a bit lower with 212.5 people per 100,000 dying from causes related to cancer.

Obesity -- The obesity prevalence in Mobile County is slightly lower than that of the state, but significantly higher than the national average. Health statistics indicate that 30.6 percent of Mobile residents are obese, while 31.6 percent of Alabama residents fall into the same category.  Statistics show that about 25 percent of Americans as a whole are considered to be obese.

Diabetes – Alabama is one of six states in the nation where more than 10 percent of the population has been diagnosed with the disease, health records show. In Mobile, it’s estimated that about 11 percent of residents, or more than 40,000 people, have been diagnosed with diabetes.

Public safety -- Crimes rates also reflect on the quality of life in a community. The overall homicide rate in Mobile County has been considerably higher than the overall rate for the state, with 12 people per 100,000 dying because of homicides in recent years. The state rate, crime records show, has been 8.2 per 100,000.

Teen Pregnancy – The teen pregnancy rate among 15- to 17-year-olds in Mobile County is alarming, standing at 30.6 per 1,000 live births. Alabama’s teen pregnancy rate is 22 per 1,000 live births, health records show. Teen pregnancies are often at higher risks for pregnancy-induced hypertension and poor birth outcomes such as premature birth and low birth weight. Low birth weight is a major predictor of mortality and disability in infancy and childhood.

Not surprisingly, other health-related indicators in Mobile County and Alabama also soar past national numbers, including rates of premature death, poor mental health days and motor vehicle crash death rates, as reported in community health surveys and U.S. Census Bureau data.

While those numbers paint a grim picture, Dr. Eichold sees hope for our community. He issued a call to action Monday, urging residents to start taking steps to become healthier. He also asked that community leaders come together to create more jogging paths and walking trails within Mobile County. He also contends that any bridge constructed across Mobile Bay should include space for people to walk, run and bike. “If we build it,” he said, “they will come.”

What's something healthy, true and new? Find out Monday at 251 North Bayou Street





                                   Signs of change are popping up all around the Health Department this week.

                                   Here, Mobile County Health Department employee Donald Black tapes white

                                   paper over a new sign set to be revealed on Monday, Sept. 30.

MOBILE, Alabama – Health Officer Dr. Bernard Eichold II, who has led Alabama’s oldest public health agency for some 23 years, plans to address the state of health in Mobile County on Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, during a news conference announcing how residents rank alongside their counterparts in the state and nation.

And for the first time in more than two decades, the Mobile County Health Department is launching something else that will serve as a visual reminder to the public and employees that the 495-employee strong agency takes seriously its mission to promote, improve and protect the health of those who live and work in our corner of coastal Alabama.

During the last week of September, employees have been given new badges and have previewed a customer service video created in house by health department employees for health department employees that reminds us all that the patient experience starts with us. The 3-minute video, inspired by work from the Beryl Institute, features 45 MCHD staff members going about their daily routines, preparing to see patients, checking to make sure our meals are safe from food-borne illnesses, setting traps for nuisance pests, filling up gas tanks before spraying for mosquitoes among dozens of other duties.

 Later in the video, each employee holds up a sign they wrote themselves that says “I am the Experience.” Feedback has been positive for the original program that also will be shown to new employees and during other public events where Alabama’s oldest health agency is promoted.

Preparing for the launch of a new era in public health in Mobile County



Mobile County Health Department employee Thomas Busby prepares to add flowers to an outdoor bed in front of the side entrance to the historic Keeler building at the agency's main campus in downtown Mobile on Friday, Sept. 27. On Monday, Sept. 30, a news conference is planned to discuss the state of the health of Mobile County among other topics.  



Baby Buggy walk to highlight safe sleep positions for infants and children

MOBILE, Alabama -- Every year in Mobile County and across Alabama, hundreds of infants die before their first birthday. Many of them fall victim to sleep-related issues that are utterly preventable, said Tony Bondora, who reviews all fetal and infant deaths for the Mobile County Health Department.

“Mobile County is particularly affected by safe sleep issues,” said Bondora, who also coordinates the Alabama Baby Coalition. “We need to do everything we can to make sure infants and babies are always safe when they sleep.”

This Saturday, on Sept. 28, beginning at 9 a.m.,  six separate “Baby Buggy Walk in the Park” events are planned in the Mobile area to encourage families to take part in a short one-mile walk. Free T-shirts will be available for the first 50 participants at each location. Bottled water and educational materials also will be provided, organizers said.

New parents, grandparents and those who care for babies are encouraged to take part. The events will be at the following locations: Cottage Hill Park; Three Mile Creek – Triennial Park; Municipal Park; Public Safety Memorial Park; McNally Park and Lavretta Park.

The walks are taking place in conjunction with National Infant Mortality Awareness Month, a time of year when health care providers typically reflect on the risk factors that increase infant mortality while also working on programs dedicated to reducing those risks.

Preliminary local data indicates that 2012 would likely show an increase in the number of infant deaths in Mobile County, Bondora said: “Final numbers are not yet known but a substantial increase in cases is very likely.”

Infants should sleep in the parent’s room in their own bed or crib, completely alone with no pillows, blankets or stuffed animals. A good alternative to bed sharing is to place the infant’s crib or cradle near the parent’s or caregiver’s bed.

Sleep-related deaths include suffocation, roll-over deaths caused when a parent or another child rolls on top of an infant, sudden unexplained death in infancy, also known as SUDI, and improper sleep position. In 2011, 44 infants died in Mobile County before their first birthday. That was up slightly from 2010 when 43 infants died.

Health providers recommend that children younger than 12 months old sleep in a bed or crib alone with no other children, adults or pets. It’s also critical that parents make sure babysitters and caregivers know to place infants on their backs to sleep. Research shows that infants placed on their stomachs who are accustomed to sleeping on their backs are at greater risk of dying, Bondora said.

The Alabama Baby Coalition is working to make Mobile a safer place to be a baby by partnering with local hospitals, medical and social services providers. For more information about the coalition, call 251-694-5007 or visit www.alabamababycoalition.org.

New seasonal flu vaccine now available at the Mobile County Health Department

Mobile, Ala. – The Mobile County Health Department is now offering flu shots for $15 at its downtown location and its eight other health centers throughout the county.

Flu shots are available on weekdays without an appointment -- for $15 -- from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at the Health Department’s Immunization Clinic at 251 N. Bayou St. The shots are available by appointment at the Health Department’s outlying clinics. Appointments also can be made by calling 251-690-8889. Shots at other agency clinics also are $15.

Last year, Alabama was hit hard by an early flu season and was one of more than a dozen states reporting higher-than-normal numbers of flu or flu-like illness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The 2013-2014 flu vaccine is an inactivated vaccine that contains killed viruses and is given with a needle. It contains three seasonal influenza viruses that are grown in eggs. The vaccine will typically protect against three influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during this flu season, health officials said. The seasonal flu vaccine is available to those 6 months of age and older.

Vaccination is especially important for people at higher risk of severe influenza and their close contacts, health care personnel and close contacts of children younger than 6 months old, said Dr. Bernard Eichold, Health Officer for the Mobile County Health Department.

For more information, call the Health Department’s Immunization Clinic at 251-690-8821.

Something is definitely up at the Health Department... Stay tuned.

Mobile County Health Department's community health centers awarded patient navigator grant

MOBILE, Alabama -- The Mobile County Health Department’s Family Oriented Primary Health Care Clinics Inc. has been awarded a two-year grant to hire a patient navigator to work at one of its community health centers, according to Farah A. Arosemena, associate director of the Center for Gulf Coast Environmental Health Research, Leadership and Strategic Initiatives.

 The competitive grant, worth about $54,000 for each year of the program, is being funded through the Tulane University Gulf Regional Health Outreach Program (GRHOP) Environmental Health Capacity and Literacy Project.

“We received an outstanding and varied group of applications in this initial round to place community health workers and patient navigators,” Arosemena wrote to the health agency in a letter about the award. “We are excited to assist you in implementing your vision to better your community.”

A goal of the health outreach project is to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable Gulf Coast communities by building environmental health capacity to deliver coordinated specialty care, integrating the roles of community health workers -- including environmental health navigators -- as a viable and sustainable component of the health system.

“This grant will help us continue to offer access to quality primary health care to vulnerable populations,” said Dr. Bernard Eichold, Health Officer for the Mobile County Health Department.  “We are pleased that Tulane recognized our commitment to the community.”

Through its primary care health centers, Mobile County Health Department providers saw nearly 39,000 patients during 2012 for health care needs that included primary medical care, optometry, dentistry, women’s health, family planning and pediatric care. The Mobile County Health Department operates 10 primary care health centers throughout Mobile County, including locations in Tillman’s Corner, Semmes, Eight Mile, Citronelle, Mount Vernon and downtown Mobile.

Alabama’s oldest health agency also provides regular community outreach with its mobile unit. More than 1,000 patient encounters were logged through the use of the rolling health center during wellness screening events in the past 12 months.

For more information about other Mobile County Health Department services, visit the agency’s website at www.mobilecountyhealth.org

Mobile County Health Department's Termika Smith snags Public Health Fellowship in Government



Dr. Bernard Eichold, Health Officer for the Mobile County Health Department,
reads a certificate of appreciation for Termika Smith, an adult health administrator
who is leaving the agency to spend a year in Washington for a public health fellowship.



MOBILE, Alabama -- Termika Smith, administrator of adult health for the Mobile County Health Department’s Primary Care division, recently accepted the Public Health Fellowship in Government for 2014 from the American Public Health Association in Washington D.C. She was selected from a field of more than a 150 candidates for the position. Her last day at the Mobile County Health Department was Sept. 7.

Smith said expanding the Ryan White clinic to see more patients in a timely manner, adding peer counselors and increasing mental health accessibility are some of the accomplishments she was most proud of during her tenure at the Health Department. When she started in 2008, she said, staff members treated a total of 589 patients through the Ryan White program. By July of 2013, more than 730 patients were being treated annually at the clinic. She credits the program’s success “to a great staff of hard-working and dedicated” employees.

The addition of peer counselors, Smith said, created meaningful ways for patients to stay connected to care: “They provide the opportunity to reach patients in a way much different than someone in the clinic taking care of them.” Peer counselors are typically former or current patients who act as mentors to those seeking services through the Ryan White program.

Smith said she was first drawn to public health in high school, where she worked as a peer advocate, addressing personal health choices and disease prevention among fellow students. In college, she saw first-hand the devastating effects to coastal Alabama residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One of her first jobs was as an outreach coordinator at the University of South Alabama Center for Healthy Communities where her responsibilities included addressing the ongoing needs of those most affected by the natural disaster and working to eliminate the health disparities many of them faced because of it. 

A native of Montgomery, Smith headed south to attend college in Mobile, becoming active in youth counseling activities and public policy among other interests. Her memberships include the Alabama HIV Prevention Council, the Mobile AIDS Coalition and the United Way Young Leaders Society. 

 Before leaving the Mobile County Health Department, a luncheon was organized for Smith, complete with an original poem penned and performed by Gail Butts. Friends and coworkers gave her a pearl bracelet and a gift card. Dr. Bernard Eichold presented her with a framed certificate of recognition, detailing Smith’s more than five years of service to Alabama’s oldest public health agency. 

"We will miss Termika," Eichold said, "but we are delighted for the opportunity this fellowship affords her."

Smith, who earned an undergraduate and master’s degree from the University of South Alabama, is working to complete a doctoral degree in Education Leadership, Policy and Law from Alabama State University in December. Then, she’ll head to D.C. to begin the year-long fellowship in early 2014. “I’ve been interested in policy,” Smith said, “and this is an opportunity to see if I want to make it a career.”

The American Public Health Association is an organization of public health professionals that has worked to improve public health since 1872. The Association aims to protect Americans from preventable, serious health threats, striving to assure community-based health promotion and disease prevention and preventive health services are accessible in the U.S.