In December 2018, the Florida Department of Health in Flagler County embarked on a new venture, hosting a weekly talk radio show called “Flagler Health Matters.” The 30-minute show, which airs on Flagler Broadcasting’s WNZF News Radio 94.9FM, broadcasts Saturday mornings at 11:30 am, taking on a range of health-related related topics and featuring local medical and wellness subject matter experts. Communications manager & PIO Gretchen Smith hosts the program and schedules guests. Flagler Broadcasting vice president David Ayres says Flagler Health Matters has been a big success with listeners. Podcasts of the Flagler Health Matters can be found here.

The Department of Health welcomed special community guests Dr. Jay Reeve, Dr. Heather Flynn and Claudia Blackburn at the October Agency Performance Management Council meeting to discuss how community health improvement processes can result in real action and health improvement. They shared how the focus and synergy of the local health improvement process significantly enhanced the efforts of the Mental Health Council of the Big Bend. As a result, they collaborated with several community partners to create an online mental health database to raise public awareness of mental health resources and created a new navigator position at 211-Big Bend to provide specialized support to callers.

DOH-Santa Rosa and Santa Rosa Animal Services partnered to present the 2019 Drive-Through Rabies Clinic on October 4. Veterinarians from Pace Veterinary Clinic and The Ark Animal Hospital administered rabies vaccine to 336 dogs and 76 cats. Pets also received a bag of treats to take home. This event raised awareness of rabies prevention and served as a training exercise for DOH-Santa Rosa staff by simulating a Point of Distribution, where prophylactic medication could be distributed to residents in the event of an outbreak of a communicable disease.

Community partners gathered together at Home Depot’s Safety Day in Key West. The event, which took place on October 5th, was an opportunity for residents and children to learn about how to stay safe, meeting one of Monroe County’s Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) goals on Bike Safety. The event included information from DOH-Monroe’s immunizations program, the City of Key West’s and health department’s bike safety program, the US Coast Guard, Key West Police Department and Key West Fire Department.

Putnam County takes huge strides in making a Heart Healthy community with the first ever 100% tobacco free event: the 2019 Bartram Frolic. Changing behaviors related to tobacco is critical in Putnam, where one of every two youth reported exposure to secondhand smoke and vaping. Kicking off the event was DOH-Putnam’s 5th annual Heart Healthy 5K walk/run/frolic. The Frolic continued with historic re-enactors, tall tales and educational opportunities throughout the day. We are so proud that the Bartram Trail Society took the lead in making changes one step at a time. #LiveWellPutnam #FLHealth #PutnamSWAT