Skagit County Commissioners will be taking comments regarding the revised proposed boundaries for the Samish Watershed
Samish Watershed MRA (MAP)
Management Plan Amendment


Whooping Cough on the Rise

As of 5/15/12:
Skagit County has confirmed 295 or 247.3 cases per 100,000 population, the highest in the state.
Statewide 1008 cases have been confirmed including 71 infants, 18 of them being hospitalized, with no deaths.
Links:
Department of Health
Center for Disease Control

Pertussis (Whooping cough) is on the rise in Skagit County and across Washington State. Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory disease spread through coughing and sneezing. It causes spells or fits of coughing that make it hard for a person to sleep at night, eat or exercise. It is particularly harmful, and sometimes life threatening, to infants who have no immunity through vaccination. Infants with Pertussis are usually hospitalized. Two infants died in Washington State in 2011. Children and adults become sick enough to miss sleep, school, and work. Coughing fits due to Pertussis infection can last 1-3 months.

The total number of cases reported in Skagit County for 2009-2011 was 17 cases. Just south of us, Snohomish County began to see a rise in Pertussis cases in 2011, with a total of 225 confirmed, including a newborn infant who died in April, 2011.

Anyone with a severe cough, especially if it includes fits of coughing and/or causes vomiting, should seek medical care. The best way to prevent Pertussis is to get vaccinated. Fewer than 10 percent of adults nationwide are current with the Tdap vaccine. If you have regular contact with infants under 12 months of age, and are uninsured or underinsured; you may be eligible for free Tdap vaccine. Contact Skagit County Public Health at 336-9477 for more information. The immunization clinic is open Mon/Wed/Thurs from 9 am to 3:30 pm.

Public Health Nursing Clinic I will be open only on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday due to staff reductions in 2012
This will include the following services:

Immunization 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) 8:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Family Planning 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Tuberculin skin test-Monday and Wednesday only
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (no Thursday testing)

Beginning March 1, 2012:

WIC will be open only on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

It is not too late to get your flu vaccine this season if you have not already done so. Flu illness typically peaks in February in Western Washington. We have just begun to see laboratory confirmed cases of influenza.

We have flu vaccine available for all ages. Flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older.
It is especially important for;

• Children 6 months to 5 years of age
• People 50 and older
• All people with chronic (ongoing) health conditions or diseases
• Caregivers to infants less than 6 months of age (friends, family, etc…)
• Caregivers to people with chronic health conditions or over age 65
• Health Care or Day Care workers
  

Skagit County Health Department has walk in clinic hours Mondays - Fridays from 9 am to 3:30 pm. through January. Beginning February 1 the walk in clinic will be open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9am to 3:30 pm (travelers MUST check in NO later than 2:30).

Overall, public health is concerned with protecting the health of entire populations. These populations can be as small as a local neighborhood, or as big as an entire country.

Public health professionals try to prevent problems from happening or re-occurring through implementing educational programs, developing policies, administering services, regulating health systems and some health professions, and conducting research, in contrast to clinical professionals, such as doctors and nurses, who focus primarily on treating individuals after they become sick or injured. It is also a field that is concerned with limiting health disparities and a large part of public health is the fight for health care equity, quality, and accessibility.

• 2010 Fee Schedule