Monthly Archives: October 2009

Happy Health Education Week!

Posted on October 19, 2009 | 1 Comment

The week of October 19-23, 2009 is National Health Education Week. As a part of this celebration, the Chatham County Public Health Department is taking the opportunity to introduce the health educators that that work in the department and profile the job of each health educator in the department.

Meet Ellie Morris

My name is Ellie Morris and I am the school health liaison for the Chatham County Public Health Department. Using the CDC’s coordinated school health model as a guide, I work to encourage schools to be leaders and centers for health promotion for their communities. In this role, my tasks are varied and exciting, anywhere from giving a presentation about flu prevention to a classroom of students, to meeting with school staff, district staff, and parent groups to plan health promotion goals and activities.

This desire to approach issues from multiple angles is what propelled me into public health in the first place. My undergraduate education and first career experience were focused on environmental education, specifically for urban students, focused on urban environmental issues. In this field I started to really become aware of how a lot of issues in communities and in our whole world are interconnected- for many of the students with whom I worked, the environmental issues they were uncovering in their neighborhoods were also health issues, and linked to urban planning issues and socioeconomic factors as well. I found myself wanting to be able to work with students and communities on broader issues than just the environment and this led me to pursue a master’s degree in public health in health behavior and health education.

School-based health promotion was a focus of my public health training and I was lucky enough to find this school heath liaison position, an innovative and unique partnership between the Chatham County Public Health Department and the Chatham County Schools. This position has introduced me so many great people county-wide and so many creative and exiting ideas for developing healthier schools and students. Every day exposes new challenges and new opportunities for promoting better health, and I am so happy to be serving the school communities of Chatham County as we move forward toward a healthier tomorrow.

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Posted in Health Observances, National Health Education Week

What is “Let’s Talk Month?”

Posted on October 16, 2009 | Leave a comment

Let’s Talk Month is a national public education campaign celebrated in October and coordinated by Advocates for Youth. Let’s Talk Month is an opportunity for community agencies, religious institutions, businesses, schools, media, parent groups and health providers to plan programs and activities which encourage parent/child communication about sexuality. Parent/Child communication is important because:

- Parents are the best sexuality educators for their children.
- Parents want to be good sex educators, but may not always understand how to do the job well.
- Children want sex education from their parents or legal guardians.
- You can be an “askable” parent, a caring parent, and a wise counselor.

Talk With Your Kids … Start Now!!!

Here are some talking points that you can use with your children:

- All of us are growing and changing throughout our lives.
- Everyone develops in his/her own way.
- Your way is unique and special and valid.
- Everybody’s body is private and deserves respect.
- Sexuality is a beautiful gift—something to be handled wisely.

The Chatham Coalition for Adolescent Health will have an exhibit on healthy relationships and how important it is to communicate with your child early and as often as possible. The display will be located at the libraries in Pittsboro, Goldston, and Siler City.

For more information on Parent-Child communication, please call Erika Gabriel, Health Educator with the Chatham County Public Health Department at 919-545-8515 or email at Erika.gabriel@chathamnc.org

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Posted in Health Observances

Q&A With a Public Health Professional

Posted on October 14, 2009 | Leave a comment
Meet Erika Gabriel, Health Educator II with the Chatham County Public Health Department.

What led you to the field of public health?
After considering the change of my major my junior year of college, I began to read the course descriptions for public health education courses and decided this is exactly what I would like to pursue.

What programs do you work with?
Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention

What projects are you currently working on?
October’s Let’s Talk Month and Peer Education Program

What is the favorite part of your job?
Working in the field providing education to youth, parents, and stakeholders of the community including schools, churches, and local agencies.

Please describe a favorite/funny experience you’ve had while working for the Chatham County Public Health Department (CCPHD).
My most favorite experience is working the TeenWorks Teen Center kids K-8th grades. Throughout the length of the SOS grant, these kids kept me grounded, smiling, and motivated to do what I do.

What do you hope to achieve in your time with the CCPHD?
I hope to achieve our goal in the reduction of pregnancy rates and achieve program sustainability within our community.

Do you have any thoughts on public health in general?
Public Health Education is a great field. Public Health receives less publicity and I wish it received more. If people could grasp the responsibility of public health we would not have to work so hard to promote such a much needed program. PUBLIC HEALTH IS EVERYWHERE AND A PART OF EVERYBODY!!!

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Posted in Programs, Staff

Is it a Cold or is it the Flu?

Posted on October 8, 2009 | Leave a comment

Flu season is starting and you feel miserable. You’re in bed with a cough, sneezing, and muscle aches. You assume that you have the flu. But it could be a cold. How do you know which one it is? Cold and flu are both respiratory illnesses but caused by different viruses. It can be hard to tell, but here are the main differences.

Cold
· Milder than the flu
· Runny or stuffy nose
· Sneezing
· Mild headache
· Mild body aches
· Generally don’t develop into health problems such as pneumonia, bacterial infections, or hospitalizations

Flu
· Symptoms are usually severe and start rapidly
· Fever > 100 degrees F
· Body aches
· Extreme tiredness
· Dry cough and/or sore throat

If a difference still can’t be seen, special tests can be done within the first few days of illness to diagnose whether a person does have the flu.

Whether you have a cold or the flu, the best treatment is to stay home, get plenty of rest, and take in fluids. If the illness gets more severe, or if you have an underlying chronic medical condition, you should call your physician. If you have difficulty breathing, go to the hospital.

To avoid getting the cold or flu, it’s important to wash your hands regularly and correctly! It sounds so simple, but it’s still the best method to preventing illness. Lather up and sing happy birthday before rinsing off and drying your hands. Also remember to stay away from people who are showing cold and flu like symptoms. Keep your hands away from your face as well.

If you do end up getting sick during cold and flu season; stay at home so you don’t spread your illness to your co-workers, classmates, or loved ones.

For more information on the cold and flu, go to http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/coldflu.htm or www.chathamnc.org/publichealth for seasonal flu and H1N1 flu information.

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Posted in Health Information

How Do You Take a Bite Out of Obesity?

Posted on October 6, 2009 | Leave a comment
Kelly Evans and Marissa Jelks of the Community Health Promotion and Advocacy |
Division recently presented on the topic of obesity at the North Carolina Public Health Association (NCPHA) Educational Conference in Asheville.

Jelks and Evans’ presented on the first day of the conference with a Power Point titled, “Taking a Bite Out of Obesity.” The talk reviewed factors that cause obesity such as a person’s environment, transportation, and access to fruits and vegetables. They then discussed rates of obesity in Chatham County and the percentage of the population that exercises and eats 5 or more servings of fruits of vegetables.

The main focus of the presentation was how the Chatham County Public Health Department uses the evidence-based Socioecological Model when developing obesity related initiatives. The model states that interventions need to address five levels: individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy in order to be effective.

Health Director, Holly Coleman, attended the presentation by Jelks and Evans. “Marissa and Kelly’s presentation on Chatham County’s Public Health Department’s obesity efforts, utilizing the Socioeconomic Model approach from individual change to policy change was very well liked by attendees. The efforts of the health department and our partners are innovative and we hope will result in improvement in the health of Chatham County residents through increased physical activity and healthier eating habits.”

Creating programs, environmental changes, and policies at all five levels helps people live a healthier lifestyle in all aspects of their lives whether it’s at home, in their community, work, or at school.

On making a presentation to NCHPA, Kelly Evans said that, “It was a great opportunity to present what Chatham County is doing to other public health professionals in the state. I felt our presentation was well received and people seemed impressed with the work we are doing. It is nice to have confirmation that Chatham County is on the right path towards eliminating obesity.”

The Chatham County Public Health Department has several obesity interventions that work on all five levels. The initiatives discussed in the presentation are: LIGHT Way, Healthy Chatham’s Team FIT, TeenWorks Teen Center, FIT Families, and Active Chatham. For more information on these programs, please go to www.chathamnc.org/publichealth and click on Community Health Promotion and Advocacy on the left side menu.
Pictured L to Right: Kelly Evans, Marissa Jelks, Health Director Holly Coleman, Board of Health Chair and NCPHA Banquet Emcee, Bill Browder
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Posted in Health Information, Programs