a. Director's Report
The reaccreditation documentation was submitted to the National Public Health
Accreditation Board in December. The site visit has not been scheduled, but we
expect to hear more in the next few months.
The Community Health Assessment is completed and will be published soon.
Staff will be meeting with our community partners to identify which priority
issues will have an improvement plan developed.
We are seeing an increasing number of syphilis and new HIV cases. There has
been a notable increase in influenza reports since December 10th. Influenza A
is most common and the highest rates are among 0-14 year-olds. Reported
cases of COVID-19 have been on the increase since December 2, 2023.
The Health Promotion staff, along with our community partners, continue to hold
monthly Save a Life naloxone training. During the calendar year 2023, staff
provided 1,705 boxes of Narcan to the community.
In October, Health Promotion staff began implementing the "School of Hard
Talks" program. This is a four-part, evidence-based program to improve
communication skills for families, including parents of teens and adults who live
with mental health and/or substance use conditions.
The program uses adaptations of Motivational Interviewing, a communication
style that health professionals use to encourage lifestyle changes. Effective skill
building will include approaching a topic with curiosity, asking good questions,
listening carefully, repeating back what you heard, and offering suggestions
effectively.
The two-hour sessions are held in the evenings via Zoom. The current series
kicked off on January 9th.
PHHS and University of Missouri Extension are partnering to host Youth Mental
Health First Aid training on January 27, 2024, from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm at the
PHHS building.
Human Services hired a Social Services Specialist last year and has
successfully implemented the Divert program which provides social services
support for the Municipal Court Community Support Docket and the City’s public
safety departments, including the Familiar Faces initiative which seeks to
address high utilizers of public safety services.
Human Services hired a Public Health Planner to coordinate the City’s efforts
around homelessness. Agreements are in place with Columbia Interfaith
Resources Center to provide year-round services for Room at the Inn (RATI) at
the Ashley St. Center and Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church to expand
operating hours for Turning Point. Staff, in partnership with other community
partners, piloted the Shower to Empower program using the City’s mobile
shower trailer to provide showers for the unsheltered population.
Jean Easley, Animal Control Officer, retired on December 8th. Molly Aust,
Animal Control Supervisor, retired on January 2nd. Janet Dutton, Administrative
Supervisor (over the clinic staff), retired yesterday, (January 10). Mary Martin,
