MCHD logo pumpkin takes the prize

Members of the Mobile County Health Department's onsite division carved the
agency's new logo on this pumpkin. The design took first prize in a pumpkin
carving contest on Oct. 31, 2013 at the Health Department. Staffers carved a
haunted house scene on the other side of the ornage orb.
 

Pumpkins & popcorn: Appreciation Day is Oct. 31

This masked pink pumpkin was submitted by MCHD's Adult Clinic last year
in the 2012 pumpkin carving contest. While it didn't earn top honors, we thought
its presentation was pretty terrific, what with the tutu and matching tablecloth.

MOBILE, Ala, -- On Thursday, Oct. 31, all Mobile County Health Department staff members are encouraged to either dress up in a costume or dress down in casual wear as we collect cans of food to donate to a local pantry. We’re also having a pumpkin carving contest for teams and a costume contest for individuals.

 You are appreciated! Snacks will be provided Oct. 31 as we learn more about seasonal flu mist. Those who work on the main campus will gather between 2 and 3 p.m. in the third floor media room in Keeler. Off site locations will have a designated time for an appreciation event to be assigned and announced by their managers.

 Contest Prizes: Prizes will be in the form of food vouchers. Teams or individuals who win the vouchers will coordinate with Missy Wilson to purchase food or snacks of your choosing. For example, the first-place pumpkin carving winner will receive a $50 voucher. It can be used to order pizza or snacks or salads (or other food items of your choice) from a local restaurant/business during weekday office hours by Friday, Nov. 15.

 Pumpkin carving contest: First place, $50 food voucher; second place, $30 food voucher; third place, $20 food voucher.

Costume contest: First place, $20 food voucher; second place, $15 food voucher; third place, $10 food voucher. All vouchers must be coordinated through Missy Wilson and used by Friday, Nov. 15^th.

Contact Missy Wilson no later than 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30 if you plan to enter the pumpkin carving contest. On the day of the judging, contestants should email photos of their pumpkins and/or costumes to Wilson no later than 9 a.m. Her email is mwilson@mchd.org. Her number is: 690-8823. Emails must include your name, department’s name, name or theme of the pumpkin or costume and your location. Special guest judges will tour Keeler on the morning of Oct. 31 to select the best entries.

 Please remember costumes should be appropriate to greet or work with the public. We don’t want to frighten or scandalize children or our co-workers. Thanks!

 

Pink bus tour: Women's Center celebrates awareness

Members of the Women's Center staff on Cox Street pose for a photo in the
Mobile County Public School System's pink bus to help promote breast cancer
awareness in Mobile on Oct. 25, 2013.

Citronelle Health Center holds open house Oct. 24

Celebrating the re-opening of the Citronelle Health Center included, from left to right,
Mobile County Health Department Health Officer Dr. Bernard Eichold, clinic
administrator Johndra Lewis, Citronelle Mayor J. Albert McDonald and Pastor
Marcus Hobbs of Living Word Church. The center re-opened after a renovation
paid for with a $500,000 Affordable Care Act grant.
 

CITRONELLE, Ala. -- The Family Oriented Primary Health Care Clinic’s Citronelle Health Center, a division of the Mobile County Health Department, recently reopened to patients after undergoing half a million in refurbishments. The $500,000 came from an Affordable Care Act Grant for Capital Development, announced in April 2012 by then U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin.

 

An open house to welcome the community back to the health center was held 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 in Citronelle. About three dozen community members and staff attended the event held at the renovated site.

 

The Citronelle Health Center’s offices were relocated for about four months while the 1940s era building on Mobile Street underwent massive renovations that transformed the clinic into a state-of-the-art facility offering pediatric care, women’s health, as well as family planning and adult care, said Johndra Lewis, an administrator with MCHD.

 

The 3,200 square foot medical clinic is open on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Medical provider Japonica Owens is accepting appointments at the center.

 

The medical practice has been modernized with all new equipment and now features six exam rooms, is handicap accessible and includes a kiosk to assist with enrolling patients in insurance programs. The waiting room, which has been restructured for better flow, includes a flat screen television to improve the patient experience, Lewis said.

 

The health center also is home to the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) supplemental nutrition program in Mobile County that offers vouchers for nutritious food to low- and moderate-income nursing mothers and children up to age 5.  

 

The power of pink: Women's Center staff celebrate breast cancer awareness month

Members of the Women's Center staff pose with a pink bus on Oct. 25, 2013
 in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The bus belongs to the
Mobile County Public School System. The Women's Center has been offering
free clinical breast exams to those who qualify on Fridays in October.

MOBILE, Alabama -- The staff at the Women's Center have been wearing pink throughout October in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So when a bright pink bus pulled into the parking lot of the Cox Street location on Friday, Oct. 25, plenty of people wanted to have their photos taken with it.

Inside, dozens of patients were checking in to recieve free breast exams. The bus, courtesy of the Mobile County Public School System, served as a visual reminder that the fight againt breast cancer continues. Breast cancer will strike one in eight women in their lifetimes, medical research shows. But caught in the early stages, chances are good that many women can beat the disease.

More than 100 women have received free clinical breast exams during the month of October at the Women’s Center. The health center offered the free clinical breast exams to those who qualified. Based on income eligibility, patients may qualify for a voucher to get a free mammogram from one of our local hospitals, MCHD staff said.

“It’s important for women older than 40 to have annual clinical breast exams,” said MCHD Health Officer Dr. Bernard Eichold. “Early detection often results in good outcomes.”

Wearing T-shirts emblazoned with a "Rock the Cure" logo, several members of the Women's Center staff took a few moments out of their busy days to take photos in front of the pink bus. Most also climbed aboard for even more photos, clicking images with their cell phones.

The Mobile County Public School System will have the pink bus parked at the Making Strides for Breast Cancer Walk on Saturday, Oct. 26 in downtown Mobile. Current and former MCPSS staff effected by the disease are encouraged to have their photo taken with the bus so the school system can share the images on Facebook.

Health Department staff walk (and work) to find a cure for diabetes

MCHD staff members, from left: James Currie, Margaret
McCulloch, Gail Butts, Irma Reyes, Leticia Harris and
Allisa Carl posed for a photo before a Walk for Diabetes
event held in Downtown Mobile on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013.



 

MOBILE, Ala. -- Despite murky clouds that threatened to drench downtown, at least half a dozen staff members of the Mobile County Health Department took part in a walk on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013, to help raise awareness and money for diabetes, a disease that effects millions across the U.S.

Many of those who participated wore stickers on their chests that spelled out the names of those they supported. Gail Butts walked for her husband. James Currie walked for his dad, Saints fan Jim Currie. Margaret McCulloch, an organizer of the event, walked for her patients.

Alabama is among six states in the nation with a diabetes rate greater than 10 percent, health records show. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that some 11 percent of Alabama residents have the disease characterized by a person's inability to regulate their blood sugar. Only Mississippi has a higher rate, at 11.3, according to 2012 CDC data.

Locally, as many as 40,000 Mobile County residents are thought to have the disease. Dr. Bernard Eichold, MCHD health officer, addressed the issue during the state of the health of Mobile County news conference held last month at Alabama's oldest public health agency.

Getting a handle on the epidemic is critical, Eichold said.

Diabetes is a group of diseases characterized by high blood glucose (sugar) levels. When a person has diabetes, the body either does not produce enough insulin or is unable to process its own insulin effectively, CDC data shows. Glucose builds up in the blood and and causes a condition, that if not controlled, can lead to serious health complications and even death. Diabetes also is a major cause of heart disease and stroke.

Average medical expenses are typically more than twice as high for a person with diabetes as they are for a person without the disease, according to the 2012 Diabetes Report Card, a publication of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

MCHD staff celebrate Reach Out and Read event

Employees of  the Mobile County Health Department, including staff of the

Pediatric Clinic downtown, join Clifford the Big Red Dog, WPMI anchor

Pat Greenwood and Health Officer Dr. Bernard Eichold for a photo following

a Reach Out and Read event held at MCHD's main campus in downtown

Mobile on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. Children from schools in Prichard and

Mobile took part in the initiative. Greenwood read the book "Clifford and the

Big Storm." Children took home a copy of the book, healthy snacks and

information on emergency preparedness after the event, organizers said.