Board Of Health Hears Stats On Hep A, Opiate Deaths
January 21, 2020 at 2:36 a.m.
By David [email protected]
He said Hepatitis A has been a hot topic from the communicable disease perspective.
According to a provided chart, from January 18 to December 2019, there were 57 new cases in the county.
Remington said Hep A is “joined at the hip” with recreational substance abuse, incarceration and homelessness. He said the immunization clinic has provided a “stellar” response to the cases in the county.
“Found it very nice to work with the sheriff’s office to get into the jail with the vaccine,” he said.
Another chart provided the number of deaths in Kosciusko County from 2012 to 2019 due to opiate overdose. There were four in 2012, three in 2013 and two in 2014; but those figures jumped to nine in 2015, 15 in 2016 and 24 in 2017. They dropped to nine in 2018 and 10 in 2019. The figures include local patients who were transferred to Fort Wayne hospitals.
Remington said there have been no vaping-related deaths in the county, and the county’s overall death statistics are “on par” with what’s been seen in previous years.
Influenza is prominent right now, with the Influenza B strain coming early in the season. Remington said all the strains that have been seen so far this season have been “well-matched” with the vaccine this year. A few deaths in Indiana have been attributed to influenza, but there have been no pediatric deaths as of the end of last week.
The infant mortality rate in Indiana has shown its largest decrease in six years., Remington said: 7.3 deaths per 1,000 births. It is still an issue of disparity, he said. As of 2017, the black community bears the brunt of the infant mortality rate at 15.3, while among whites it is 5 and in Indiana it is 7.3. However, he said the rate is coming down.
“Our rate in this county is still tough to get. Our numbers are so low, the rates aren’t seen,” Remington said.
County Health Administrator Bob Weaver reported the Tippecanoe-Chapman Sewer District, after being down at the state since June 26, now officially exists as of last month.
He said the next step is for the sewer district board to be named, which isn’t complete yet. There are several different groups that have the ability to name one or two people to the board. The county commissioners place two, county council two, city of Warsaw one and the townships of Tippecanoe and Plain each have one.
“But it is a sewer district officially,” Weaver said.
Weaver then reminded the board that at the October meeting, Remington told them about the state’s desire to change direction on the prenatal program. Some of the larger counties have very high infant mortality rates, and therefore many smaller counties lost prenatal funding, including Kosciusko County.
Weaver said the county had that grant funding from the state for 30 years. Two years ago, the state increased Kosciusko’s grant funding.
“It was very helpful. But we’re not going to let the program slide. I’ve been in meetings with the council and commissioners. I’ve changed some grants around we could use to support those people,” Weaver said.
The prenatal program helps 200 to 300 people a year. He said maybe some day that money will return from the state.
Remington said the county health department will keep going with the program, and it’s OK with funding right now. “Stay tuned,” he said.
Members of the Kosciusko Board of Health present were Brian Reichenbach, Dennis Woodward, Tom Howard and Karen Scripture. Not present were Cindy Kaiser, Terry Owens and Larry Coplen.
The next three board meetings will be at 6 p.m. April 20, July 20 and Oct. 19 on the third floor of the old county courthouse building.
He said Hepatitis A has been a hot topic from the communicable disease perspective.
According to a provided chart, from January 18 to December 2019, there were 57 new cases in the county.
Remington said Hep A is “joined at the hip” with recreational substance abuse, incarceration and homelessness. He said the immunization clinic has provided a “stellar” response to the cases in the county.
“Found it very nice to work with the sheriff’s office to get into the jail with the vaccine,” he said.
Another chart provided the number of deaths in Kosciusko County from 2012 to 2019 due to opiate overdose. There were four in 2012, three in 2013 and two in 2014; but those figures jumped to nine in 2015, 15 in 2016 and 24 in 2017. They dropped to nine in 2018 and 10 in 2019. The figures include local patients who were transferred to Fort Wayne hospitals.
Remington said there have been no vaping-related deaths in the county, and the county’s overall death statistics are “on par” with what’s been seen in previous years.
Influenza is prominent right now, with the Influenza B strain coming early in the season. Remington said all the strains that have been seen so far this season have been “well-matched” with the vaccine this year. A few deaths in Indiana have been attributed to influenza, but there have been no pediatric deaths as of the end of last week.
The infant mortality rate in Indiana has shown its largest decrease in six years., Remington said: 7.3 deaths per 1,000 births. It is still an issue of disparity, he said. As of 2017, the black community bears the brunt of the infant mortality rate at 15.3, while among whites it is 5 and in Indiana it is 7.3. However, he said the rate is coming down.
“Our rate in this county is still tough to get. Our numbers are so low, the rates aren’t seen,” Remington said.
County Health Administrator Bob Weaver reported the Tippecanoe-Chapman Sewer District, after being down at the state since June 26, now officially exists as of last month.
He said the next step is for the sewer district board to be named, which isn’t complete yet. There are several different groups that have the ability to name one or two people to the board. The county commissioners place two, county council two, city of Warsaw one and the townships of Tippecanoe and Plain each have one.
“But it is a sewer district officially,” Weaver said.
Weaver then reminded the board that at the October meeting, Remington told them about the state’s desire to change direction on the prenatal program. Some of the larger counties have very high infant mortality rates, and therefore many smaller counties lost prenatal funding, including Kosciusko County.
Weaver said the county had that grant funding from the state for 30 years. Two years ago, the state increased Kosciusko’s grant funding.
“It was very helpful. But we’re not going to let the program slide. I’ve been in meetings with the council and commissioners. I’ve changed some grants around we could use to support those people,” Weaver said.
The prenatal program helps 200 to 300 people a year. He said maybe some day that money will return from the state.
Remington said the county health department will keep going with the program, and it’s OK with funding right now. “Stay tuned,” he said.
Members of the Kosciusko Board of Health present were Brian Reichenbach, Dennis Woodward, Tom Howard and Karen Scripture. Not present were Cindy Kaiser, Terry Owens and Larry Coplen.
The next three board meetings will be at 6 p.m. April 20, July 20 and Oct. 19 on the third floor of the old county courthouse building.
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