PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK HIGHLIGHT'S CENTURY'S IMPROVEMENTS

In the last 100 years, the average life span of Americans has increased by more than 30 years and about 25 years of this gain can be attributed to advances in public health, statistics show.

Yet many people don't know what public health is or what a public health center does, said Charlotte Craig, director of the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center.

She and several members of her staff came together to talk about the services the center offers that are among the major public health achievements of the 20th century during this, Public Health Week.

Probably the greatest achievement is vaccinations, the group agreed. Small pox has been eradicated and polio is on its way to eradication thanks to vaccines against them, said Jane Wernsman, assistant director of the health center.

The health center gives 500 to 600 immunizations per month to children and adults. The immunizations cover everything from flu to mumps to measles to hepatitis A and B. These are offered free or at a low cost, depending on the immunization.

"Even something like flu can kill people if complications set in," Wernsman said. So the 60,000 flu shots the health center gave out in 1999 may have saved a few lives or at least kept people from getting so sick.

Healthier mothers and babies and family planning are two other major public health achievements that the local health center works on. Its programs include a rural health clinic for children's primary care and women's well care, Women, Infant and Children's supplemental food program, family planning and pregnancy testing and a program to convince teens to postpone sexual involvement.

"When you look through an old cemetery and see all the graves of children 3 years old or 2 years old or 2 days old, you can see how far we've come because of immunizations and better care during pregnancy," Craig said.

Early detection of pregnancy, proper nutrition during pregnancy, newborn screening and programs to keep children healthy all mean children getting a better start to a healthier life, Craig said.

Control of infectious diseases is another major achievement. This relates somewhat to immunizations, since they have helped prevent many infectious diseases. The health center also conducts a weekly communicable disease surveillance of hospitals, doctor's offices, day-care centers and schools.

They keep track of 57 illnesses, including upper respiratory infections, hepatitis, food borne illnesses, tuberculosis and meningitis. This information not only helps the local health department spot trends or potential problems, but the information is forwarded for use on the district, state and federal levels, said Vicky McDowell, the center's communicable disease coordinator.

The center also has a sexually transmitted disease clinic, does tuberculosis testing and does following up for communicable diseases like hepatitis A.

Safer and healthier foods is another major public health achievement in the last 100 years. The Cape Girardeau Health Center's environmental health department has several programs aimed at this area.

It does food service inspections at restaurants, schools, retail stores and day-care centers; investigates food-borne illnesses; conducts food preparation/serving schools for restaurant workers and the general public; has an on-site sewage (septic) program; and evaluates well water.