Orange County Health Department

Orange County Health Department is a unit of the Florida Department of Health,^[1] charged with protecting the health and safety of visitors and residents of Orange County, Florida.^[2] The estimated daytime population of Orange County is 1.5 million people. Orange County has an estimated 51 million visitors per year including the major theme parks of Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and Sea World. The County seat is Orlando, Florida.

History

A local physician, Dr. J.W. Hicks worked in Orlando from the period of 1875 onward. Dr. Hicks served as a physician with the Orlando City Health Department in the 1880's, and was President of the Orange County Board of Health. He was the first of a line of Health Officers to serve in the Central FL area, and one of many who have served in the state of Florida. He also served as president of the FL Medical Association circa 1887. Dr. Hicks and his colleagues, such as Dr. John Wall of Tampa, CY Porter of Key West, and others, were instrumental in convincing the FL Legislature of the necessity of organizing the first state board of health following devastating Yellow Fever Epidemics in the 1800's.

The Florida Board of Health began in Jacksonville in 1889. Dr. C.Y. Porter was the first leader of public health in the State of Florida. The oldest county health department in Florida was in Pensacola and dated from 1825. Orange County was a fairly rural county in the late 19th and early 20th Century. It was the sixth leading county in the US in agricultural production as recently as 1965. Orange County was originally a part of a much larger county known as "Mosquito County", when the state was added to the Union in 1845. Local county health departments were formed to help track and abate mosquito-borne diseases, organize local sanitation efforts, and provide basic immunizations and maternal and child health services.

During the 1920s, tuberculosis was a leading cause of death in this community. The Orange County Health Department began during the Great Depression, in 1937, in the Old County Courthouse in downtown Orlando. There were also several outlying clinics which provided prenatal care, and well child care. The Orlando City Health Department continued in the former "Holiday Hospital", near the present day Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando. The City Health Department provided mainly womens health services. In the 1960's era reorganization of public health in FL, the Orlando City, and Orange County Health Departments were combined under the new state public health agency then known as Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. Today the Orange County Health Department is the fifth largest county health department in the State of Florida.

Orange County Health Department

The Orange County Health Department is responsible for a single county jurisdiction that is larger in population than 8 US States and the District of Columbia. The Florida Department of Health's responsibilities include epidemiology, investigating foodborne, zoonotic and water-borne diseases, emergency preparedness and bioterrorism, controlling communicable disease, health promotion and education, school health, women's health, public health dentistry and oral health, WIC and nutrition, vaccine preventable diseases, eliminating health disparities, provision of vital records, and protecting the public's environmental health. In 2006, the Department opened a first in the U.S., hospital based vital records office, at Winter Park Memorial Hospital Florida Hospital. Publications by staff have included CDC MMWR investigations of food borne, water-borne, zoonotic, and other infectious diseases. "Storyboards" have been published, with graphics in toolkits, by the Public Health Foundation in Washington DC demonstrating that quality improvement efforts improved STD and HIV public health outcomes.^[3] WIC and nutrition program staff collaborated with the Department of Health and published "The Whole Grain Choo-Choo Train" , a children's book which teaches small children about proper eating habits and nutrition.^[4] In 2009, the department received a series of recognition awards for best practices in public health including Davis Productivity Awards, and the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Current initiatives include the use of Certified Nurse midwives in a local hospital to improve pregnancy outcomes, The BABY program (better weight for a better you) global climate change and health, pioneering bedside birth records in hospitals, and an award-winning video of value to H1N1 swine flu prevention efforts entitled, "Protect Don't Infect".

Ameoba deaths

In 2007, the death of three children in or near Orange County, due to a rare, deadly infection, Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, also known as PAM, has prompted a public health investigation in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control.[1] PAM is a water-borne infection caused by the amoebic organism, Naegleria fowleri, that enters the brain through the nose, usually resulting in death. PAM is associated with swimming and water sports in fresh water bodies and inadequately chlorinated swimming pools. An increase of Naegleria fowleri may be seen with global climate change, given that PAM is more likely in warm water.^[5] Orange County, Fla. has had 16 cases of Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, in 47 years, of 32 PAM cases recorded in the State of Florida. As of 1990, about 200 cases of PAM, Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, had been reported worldwide, and as of 2007, 132 cases in the U.S. PAM occurs throughout the world including colder climates, such as, the UK and Belgium. In 2007, PAM cases were also reported in Texas and Arizona. Water-borne diseases investigated by the Orange County Health Department, the Florida Department of Health and the CDC here, have also included Giardia, Cyclosporiasis and Cryptosporidiosis. Techniques for identifying Cyclosporiasis were first developed in central Florida. The Orange County Health Department, the Florida Department of Health and the CDC advises swimmers and water sports enthusiasts to wear nose plugs when the ambient temperatures exceed 80 degrees, when choosing to participate in fresh water activities. However these have not been shown to prevent the disease. Avoiding fresh water during the hot season appears to be the safest practice.^[6][7] Naegleria fowlerii infection of young teenagers is best described as one of a number of very rare, "orphan diseases".

Legionnaire's outbreak

On March 14, 2008, a legionella outbreak involving two guests of a hotel in Orlando was epidemiologically traced to possible inadequate chlorination of the pool spa. On March 20 a third guest was confirmed to have had the disease. On April 4, a fourth guest was confirmed to have had the disease. The Orange County Health Department worked with management to assess guest rooms, indoor air quality (IAQ), heating, ventilation and A/C (HVAC) systems, and other variables. The hotel was partially closed for a weekend while individual room assessments took place. The rooms and air conditioning systems tested negative for the disease. The Jacuzzi was the most likely source, though the first set of cultures, weeks after the possible exposures, was also negative.

H1 N1 Pandemic influenza

The department received focus in state and national media for reporting of a first case of H1 N1 influenza in this jurisdiction because of its proximity to large theme parks. The WHO website listed suspect H1 N1 Orlando Disney on its website within three days of WHO announcing the global pandemic. This turned out to be a false report in that the index case did not involve the Disney World theme park, but occurred off property. Xinhua news agency, Pravda, and major newspapers quoted stories from Orange County Health Department involving the H1N1 pandemic.^[8]

Tobacco Grant

On Friday, March 19, 2010, The Orange County Health Department was visited by the US Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA, who presented an announcement to the local community of a $6.632 Million dollar award for tobacco prevention policy and systems changes to prevent tobacco use and to help current smokers to quit smoking. This announcement was part of a satellite announcement with 3 other locations for similar grants under the Communities Putting Prevention to Work funding from the CDC. These are "stimulus grants" under the American Recovery, and Reinvestment Act. The local grant was the largest single award ever received in Orange County, Fla. for public health. Tobacco is one of the top winnable battles from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Orange County Health Department is engaged with the other winnable battles and the following reference describes this in more detail. ,^[9] The local projecct for tobacco is part of a national effort to help change policies and systems in favor of tobacco use prevention. The local project is known as "ALL IN", and its board is chaired by former US Surgeon General, Dr. Antonia Novello, MD, MBA, the Medical Director of the Disney Pavillion for Children of the Florida Hospital Orlando System. Recently, and as a result of this coalition's efforts, the cities of Orlando, Ocoee, Winter Park, Eatonville, Apopka, Belle Isle, Oakland, Orange County itself, as well as the Orange County Florida School District, Valencia College, and the University of Central Florida, have all passed tobacco free resolutions or smoking bans involving campuses.

References

1. ^ "Public health". Florida Department of Health. http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Planning_eval/phealth/phmain.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-03. 
2. ^ "OrangeCountyFL.net". Orange County Government, Florida. http://www.ocfl.net. Retrieved 2007-10-03. 
3. ^ ""Storyboards, Orange County Health Department"" (PDF). Public Health Foundation. http://www.phf.org/infrastructure/OCHDstoryboard.pdf. Retrieved 2007-10-03. 
4. ^ Bowden, Diane (2007-05-01). "The Whole Gain Choo-Choo Train". Florida Department of Health. 
5. ^ "Toxicology in the New Century, Opportunities and Challenges - Proceedings of the 5th Congress of Toxicology in Developing Countries  ; Volume 198, Issues 1-3, 20". 2004-05. 
6. ^ "Naegleria fowlerii". cdc.gov. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/naegleria/2007_Naegleria.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
7. ^ "Healthy Swimming". CDC. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/accessdate=2009-10-10. 
8. ^ "Sixth death of A/H1N1 flu reported in U.S. state of Florida". news.xinhuanet.com. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/08/content_11673409.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
9. ^ The six winnable battles and Orange County

External links

• ""Public health"". Florida Department of Health. http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Planning_eval/phealth/phmain.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-03. 
• ""Orange County Government"". Orange County, Fla.. http://www.ocfl.net. Retrieved 2007-10-03. 
• ""Storyboards, Orange County Health Department"" (PDF). Public Health Foundation. http://www.phf.org/infrastructure/OCHDstoryboard.pdf. Retrieved 2007-10-03. 
• Stickney, Mary et al. (2007). "The Whole Gain Choo-Choo Train". Tallahassee, Fla.: Florida Department of Health. 
• "Third case of deadly amoeba confirmed". Fla. DOH. http://www.orchd.com/news/absolutenm/templates/alerts.asp?articleid=408&zoneid=18. Retrieved 2007-10-03. ^{[dead link]}
• "Orange County/Orlando Health Department". Fla. DOH. http://www.orchd.com. Retrieved 2008-04-04. 
• Florida Department of Health
• Charles V. Chapin
• AAPHP
• All Into Health ""All into Health.org"". FL Dept or Health. http://www.Allintohealth.org All Into Health. Retrieved 2011-11-01.