To the citizens of Fairfield County,

 Have you ever heard, or said yourself:

  “If I ignore that cough, it will go away on its own.”

 “My sewage goes into the ground and I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

 “I think I’ll have that other doughnut; it’s not that big.”

 “I don’t need mosquito repellant; it’s too greasy.”

     Is it everyone’s individual right and responsibility to take care of their own health, or should there be an agency that reminds people that the consequences of their own actions can drastically affect the health of others?  Public health, and your health department, must deal with both.

     It is our mission to protect and improve the health of the public.  Not only do our funders and legislators tell us that, but it is also the right thing to do.  No one can force another person to change their behavior.  We know that and we respect individual rights.  However, we know that individuals are part of an entire community and what one person does can significantly affect the rest of us.

     Often, that doesn’t make us very popular.  We have been called many things, from “mother hens” to “thieves.”  In order to correct and remedy some of the most pressing health concerns in our county, we often have to do things like close a restaurant, fine a person for allowing their sewage to flow into a neighbor’s yard, give a child a shot, tell someone they really should wear that helmet, or charge an operating permit fee that citizens didn’t vote on.

     We deal with these concerns, and many others, on a day-to-day basis.  And since Fairfield County is the third fastest growing county in the state of Ohio, we encounter these and other concerns at an increasing frequency.  Your Fairfield Department of Health continually monitors growth, the health of the public, and the public’s response to health problems in order to keep up with such rapid development. 

     Unfortunately, based on current funding levels, your health department continues to have difficulty providing all of the quality and timely health services our rapidly growing county needs.  As you will see in this report, we provide numerous services to address the health needs of our county residents – from the medical clinic to restaurant inspections, to dealing directly with potential epidemics.  All of us who work at the health department are your partners in preventing disease, promoting good health habits and protecting our citizens from health disasters, both personal and county-wide.  

     Clearly, this has been a year of major challenges for our health department.  At the same time that grant funds are decreasing and unfunded mandates are increasing, we had an opportunity to move our health clinic from its location at the health department on Granville Pike to a new location on Main Street.  This move was necessary because of the clinic’s new status as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Look-Alike.  Though this status allows the health department to seek better reimbursement from the government, it also means the clinic must adhere to certain clinic standards which the former health department site did not adequately meet.  

     The new location provides a much more accessible and appropriate location for our patients, and enables the clinic to grow as needed.  The health department has also applied for full Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) status which would enable us to sustain our current level of funding and, therefore, allow us to continue providing care for the medically underserved in our community. 

    Your health department continues to be responsible for programs that we are required to establish and operate with no funding or with inadequate funding for them.  These important programs include: county-wide rabies monitoring and protection, the Child Fatality Review Board, West Nile Virus monitoring, indoor smoking ban enforcement, communicable disease monitoring, and others.  Because funds were not available to move these and other programs out of the Granville Pike health department location, this means there are now two building sites which must be maintained with utilities, phones, staff and other additional expenses.

     That’s where your local property taxes become very important for your own health.  Some of your property taxes are allocated to the health department through local tax assessments to help fund our otherwise unfunded programs.  These funds are called “District Health” funds when we receive them.  Even though they comprise about 18 percent of our overall budget, they are probably the most important funds we receive because the vitally needed programs mentioned above are not funded through any other source.

     Thank you for helping support these programs, for recognizing the importance of what we do, and for using our services.  Also, thank you for watching us and making sure that we use these funds – your funds – as effectively and responsibly as possible.  This report is dedicated to each of you to demonstrate that every penny of your financial support is used to help improve the health of each resident of our county.  For additional information, please check our website, www.myfdh.org on a regular basis.   We welcome any suggestions you may have for ways we can continue to improve what we do.

 Sincerely,

Frank Hirsch

Health Commissioner

740-653-4489