Public health across the nation, Oregon, and in Malheur County has been changing. Local public health is experiencing a significant period of transformation. Individuals and families flourish when communities are safe and healthy and when everyone has the opportunity to thrive. The Malheur County Health Department is a key partner in making this happen locally. We work behind the scenes to protect and support our diverse communities so that people can prosper and live fulfilling lives. We are able to do this through Public Health Modernization, a framework that ensures all people and communities in Oregon have the same level of protection and support from our public health system.

Years of reduced state funding made it challenging for local public health authorities (LPHAs) to provide these services. Lack of funding means LPHAs have less staff to do this important work in their communities. Public Health Modernization is also a policy that ensures LPHAs across Oregon have the resources to protect and serve their communities.

We are changing the way we do business to ensure that our team has the skills and resources necessary to work across sectors, to question why health inequality exists, to make data-driven decisions, and to think strategically about how to engage the community to create conditions for health, safety, and equity.

Oregon is a leader in its innovative approach to health system transformation, which aims to provide better health and better care at a lower cost. Public health should support Oregon’s health system in shifting its focus to prevention of disease.

We need a health system that integrates public health, health care and community-level health improvement efforts to achieve a high standard of overall health for all Oregonians, regardless of income, race, ethnicity or geographic location. To achieve this, we must stimulate innovation and integration among public health, health systems and communities to increase coordination and reduce duplication.

2010 Oregon’s Action Plan for Health

Public health modernization ensures Oregon’s public health system will be well-prepared and able to meet this charge. A modernized public health system will provide core public health functions and maintain the flexibility needed to focus on new health challenges, which include emerging infectious diseases, climate change, threats from man-made and natural disasters, and an increase in chronic diseases.

The current Malheur County Health Department Priorities and Key Activities for Public Health Modernization:

Priorities

• Plan for and prevents communicable and environmental threats.
• Eliminate health inequities by 2030.

Key Activities

• Create and implement four plans:
  a. Climate Adaptation Plan
  b. All Hazards Plan
  c. Health Equity Plan
  d. Strategic Plan
• Establish new positions focused on Community Engagement, Health Equity, and Environmental Public Health.
• Expand existing positions for Communicable Disease and Communications.
• Implement Health Equity Lens across all programs.
• Build meaningful community partnerships through Malheur County Health Equity Conference and ongoing collaboration.

For more information, visit the Modernization websites from the Oregon Health Authority and the Coalition of Local Health Officials.

Please contact Kyle Sorensen, Modernization & Outreach Supervisor, at kyle.sorensen@malheurco.org, Sarah Poe, Director, at sarah.poe@malheurco.org, or call our office at 541-889-7279. We hope to make more connections with community based organizations, health care and social service providers, and individuals to volunteer and advocate for change.

At our last all-staff meeting, Registered Nurse MaryLue Galligar shared great tips on food safety, including the CDC recommendation to not rinse raw chicken before cooking. We had cases of Salmonella and Campylobacter infections in our county in the last year. As a precaution, we recommend reviewing the following information from a Public Health Insider interview with Dr. Eyob Mazengia, who specializes in food safety.

Q: Let’s start with something that’s received a lot of controversy recently – food safety guidance from the CDC says to not wash raw chicken before cooking because it could spread bacteria throughout your kitchen. Many people learned to wash chicken from their parents and grandparents, who didn’t get sick from the practice. Are you saying those family cooking methods are wrong?

EM: No! This is an example of cooking practices changing as our food system has changed.

The practice of washing raw chicken may have developed in a context when people were typically eating chicken they raised themselves, or bought live from a local market.

Today in the US, most chickens are raised on very large farms and come into contact with many other chickens, which increases the spread of Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria. During processing, the meat passes through many different steps, which increases the risk for exposure to bacteria. All this means that the chicken you buy in the store are more likely to carry bacteria that can make you sick if handled improperly. In addition, the widespread use of antibiotics in farming has led to an increase in “multi-drug resistant” forms of Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria that are harder to treat.

Q: Do you think buying organic chicken, instead of conventionally farmed chicken, reduces the risk of getting sick from chicken?

EM: Regardless of which type of chicken you buy, you should assume it carries Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria. Tests show that locally, up to 30% of raw chicken test positive for Salmonella, whether it was raised on an organic or a conventional farm.

Q: If raw chicken is a potential source of harmful bacteria, why not wash it before cooking?

EM: By washing the meat, you risk spreading the bacteria throughout your kitchen without even noticing it. Washing chicken can splash bacteria up to three feet away from your sink and because you can’t see the bacteria, it’s very easy to then spread it all over your kitchen and home.

What’s more, washing the meat doesn’t kill the germs on the chicken. To kill bacteria, you should always cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165° F and use a thermometer to confirm this.

Q: Can’t you just wash the sink afterward to get rid of the bacteria?

EM: The bacteria often splashes far outside the sink without you even realizing it. More than a million bacteria can fit into single drop of heavily contaminated water, so, even if you sanitize your sink after washing the chicken, the bacteria may have already spread throughout your kitchen but be invisible to you.  Salmonella can remain active and reproduce on contaminated dry surfaces for weeks to months. 

Q: Some people marinate chicken in lemon juice or vinegar before cooking. Does this help kill bacteria?

EM: Marinating chicken in citrus juice or vinegar may reduce the regrowth of bacteria, but it won’t effectively kill the bacteria already present on the chicken. When you’re handling chicken as part of the marination process, it’s important to avoid cross-contamination. Before removing the chicken from the package, prepare all of your marinade ingredients. Set your casserole dish on a surface that can be easily cleaned. Then, gently place the chicken in the marinade and immediately wash your hands (for 20 seconds, with soap and hot water) before touching anything else.  And don’t forget to sanitize the counter top or the sink where you handled the raw chicken.

Q: Sometimes raw chicken is a little slimy or smelly. How do you deal with that if you don’t wash the meat?

EM: If you keep your chicken in the fridge for more than 24 hours after you buy it, it can develop a little bit of a film or smell. This doesn’t mean it’s dangerous to eat – typically, you can safely keep raw chicken in the fridge for up to 2 days. When you cook the chicken, this film will cook off. But, if the smell or film bothers you, I’d recommend dipping the chicken in boiling water for about 10-15 seconds. When putting the chicken in the boiling water, use tongs to hold the raw meat, and then thoroughly wash the tongs and your hands to remove bacteria. This will kill most of the bacteria and remove the film from the chicken with less risk of spreading harmful bacteria around the kitchen.

If you’re going to keep raw chicken for longer than 2 days before cooking, I’d suggest freezing it. A whole chicken can be safely kept in the freezer for up to a year, and chicken pieces can be safely kept in the freezer for up to 9 months. When you defrost the chicken, thaw it in the fridge rather than letting it sit in the sink because this method can allow the meat to become too warm and increase the number of bacteria. If you don’t have time to thaw it in the fridge, you can defrost it in the microwave. However, never cook your chicken in the microwave — microwaves don’t cook evenly so there’s a higher risk of bacteria not being killed.

Q: Any final advice?

EM: Yes! Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria can even live on the outside of the chicken package. Therefore, keep the package separated from other foods, especially produce. Don’t set the package of chicken next to your other food in the grocery cart, and in the fridge, I recommend wrapping the package of chicken in a plastic bag to avoid cross contamination and leaks.

Learn more on Food Safety from the CDC here.