Our immunization team will be at Nyssa Middle School (101 S 11th St., Nyssa, OR) Wednesday, August 2nd from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. and Thursday, August 3rd from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. to provide free vaccines for kids and families. Children are required to be up to date on their vaccines to attend pre-school through 12th grade. Please share the flyers in English and Spanish and stay up to date with more opportunities on our Events Calendar.
The sunshine is out, summer meals are kicking off and farmers markets are in full swing! Every weekday this summer, a national program will provide free lunches for kids (ages 1 to 18). No ID or sign-up is needed. The free breakfasts and lunches will be available in 800 locations throughout Oregon, and in all other states where you might travel this summer.
A few local summer meal sites:
Summer Meals Map – Find all the Summer Meal locations nationwide on the Summer Meals Map. These summer meal programs are open to all families without paperwork or signing up – kids can just drop in. Many programs offer fun activities so kids can stay active. Check out the many meal sites in your area!
Also, don’t forget to use your WIC Farmers’ Market Vouchers and shop at Farmers Markets Matching SNAP. Many Oregon farmers markets are offering a SNAP match. The Ontario Saturday Market accepts the WIC FM Vouchers and offers a SNAP match. Visit the Ontario Saturday Market in Moore Park every Saturday, from June to September, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Join us Thursday and Friday, 7/27 and 7/28 in the Nyssa High School Gym (824 Adrian Blvd in Nyssa) for free sports physicals, vaccines, OHP (Medicaid) enrollment, and other resources! Valley Family Health Care will be offering sports physicals at Nyssa High School. What a great time to get your kids’ immunizations up to date! Open to all, not just students of the high school. Please share the flyers in English and Spanish and the details on our Events Calendar.
West Nile Virus (WNV) has been detected in mosquitoes at a second and third testing site in Malheur County according to Malheur County Vector Control. The presumptive sample is being processed for confirmatory results through Oregon State University, Veterinary Laboratory. The mosquitoes, were found in traps the Vale and Annex area. The first WNV in mosquitoes in Malheur County for 2023 was reported last week.
Health officials are advising people in Malheur County to take precautions against mosquitoes to avoid the risk of infection, including preventing mosquito bites. West Nile virus is spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. Communities and individuals living in or spending significant time outdoors, particularly near irrigated land, waterways, standing water, and used tires—including those working in agriculture, such as migrant and seasonal farm workers—may be at increased risk of mosquito bites and related diseases.
The incubation period (time between a mosquito bite and symptoms) is usually two to 14 days Most people with febrile illness due to West Nile virus recover completely, but fatigue and weakness can last for weeks or months. It is important that you contact your health care provider if you experience any of these symptoms. Neuroinvasive diseases is especially of concern to people 50 and older, people with immune-compromising conditions, and people with diabetes or high blood pressure.
The number of mosquito pools—samples of about 50 mosquitoes—that test positive in any area may indicate the risk of human exposure and infection, said Emilio DeBess, D.V.M., public health veterinarian at the Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Division. He recommends people and animals be protected against mosquito bites. “Although mosquitoes are an inevitable part of summer, mosquito bites don’t have to be—they are preventable,” DeBess says. “You can take simple steps to protect yourself and reduce the risk of contracting West Nile disease.”
Dr. DeBess offers these tips for protecting yourself against mosquitoes:
The virus also affects wildlife and domesticated and farm animals. Horse onwers should get their horses vaccinated for WNV. Horses with neurologic disease should be examined by a veterinarian. West Nile testing is available at Oregon State University.
Last year, three human cases of West Nile virus infection were reported in Oregon, with 52 mosquito pools and three horses also found to be positive for the virus. Malheur County was one of only six Oregon counties with cases in 2022.
People should consult their health care providers if they have these symptoms. Health care providers can contact us at the Malheur County Health Department at 541-889-7279 for information on West Nile virus testing.
Additional information about West Nile virus:
Oregon Health Authority: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/DiseasesConditions/DiseasesAZ/WestNileVirus/Pages/wnile.aspx
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/index.html
The Malheur County Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) program provides planning, coordination, and resources to prepare our community to respond to public health emergencies. This is done through partnerships with internal programs such as Communicable Disease, Immunizations, and Modernization, and with the help of outside agencies such as Malheur County Emergency Management, Malheur County Environmental Health, Oregon Department of Human Services, local healthcare providers, and others.
There are four major phases of preparedness: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. These phases are designed to provide structure to how PHEP operates when in an emergency and under normal conditions. Most of the work the health department does can be categorized under mitigation. The other phases focus more directly on emergency response and the efforts that are conducted during an emergency.
In PHEP, it is critical that we stay ready to respond to any potential emergency we might have a role in responding to. To that end, we are active members of the Malheur County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). This is a group comprised of several different agencies from law enforcement, health/medical care, firefighting, HAZMAT, and many others, whose objective is to coordinate through different emergencies that might impact our community. We meet monthly and cover a variety of different disaster/emergency scenarios that could face our community and discuss response efforts. Through these discussions, we can take it a step further and conduct full scale exercises that are designed to simulate an emergency, and actively work through that response together. Not all scenarios impact agencies equally. For the local police departments and sheriff’s office, something such as active shooter training might be more applicable. For us at the health department, mass vaccination clinics/testing events. But it’s important that we continue to meet and work through these different emergency scenarios, because you never know how your agency might get involved.
Another very important part of Emergency Preparedness is the sharing and gathering of information. It is important that we know about the problems in our community, so that if they ever rise to the level of an emergency, we are ready to respond as effectively as possible. With that in mind, we work at both a state and local level to determine what is affecting our community the most, and what we can do to prevent that from rising to the level of an emergency to begin with.
The key to any successful emergency response doesn’t start with any individual department/agency, it starts with you. While it’s important that we know what’s facing our community and how to respond, it’s equally if not more important that we as a community know what is going on and how we can help. The best way you can stay updated is by visiting our website or following us on social media where we put information ranging from the latest news coming from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Oregon Health Authority (OHA) updates, adverse health conditions in our community (such as case data of a specific disease/infection, overdose information/resources, etc), program highlights/announcements, community events and more. Even simple things such as health/quality of life suggestions. We believe we have something for everyone and we would love to have your support in these ongoing efforts.
Another way to stay informed is through the use of emergency alerts. MCHD utilizes the emergency broadcasting system AlertSense to broadcast emergency alerts. With our link, which you can find here, you can sign up for these alerts and receive information directly from Malheur County Emergency Management on the latest developments in an emergency.
The best thing you can do in an emergency is have a plan of action ready to go and prepare to adapt as new information becomes available. This doesn’t have to be some long winded, step-by-step showcase of what you’ll do in every type of emergency. It can be as simple as coming up with a process with where you’ll go if you were asked to evacuate, or saving up an extra supply of necessary medical supplies or food/water. This is especially important if you’re someone who might have a condition/circumstances that may require extra attention if you were asked to evacuate or become involuntarily displaced. You can visit here for more information on what to consider when coming up with your own emergency preparedness plan.
If you ever have any questions on what the health department is doing around PHEP, you can give us a call at 541-889-7279 or visit us at 1108 Southwest 4th Street in Ontario.
Additional Resources:
West Nile virus has been detected in mosquitoes at a testing site in Malheur County according to Malheur County Vector Control. The sample is being processed for confirmatory results through Oregon State University laboratory. The mosquitoes, found in an area between Nyssa and Adrian, are the first to test positive for the disease in the county in 2023.
Health officials are advising people in Malheur County to take precautions against mosquitoes to avoid the risk of infection, including preventing mosquito bites. West Nile virus is spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.
Most people with febrile illness due to West Nile virus recover completely, but fatigue and weakness can last for weeks or months. It is important that you contact your health care provider if you experience any of these symptoms.
The number of mosquito pools—samples of about 50 mosquitoes—that test positive in any area may indicate the risk of human exposure and infection, said Emilio DeBess, D.V.M., public health veterinarian at the Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Division. He recommends people and animals be protected against mosquito bites.
“Although mosquitoes are an inevitable part of summer, mosquito bites don’t have to be—they are preventable,” DeBess says. “You can take simple steps to protect yourself and reduce the risk of contracting West Nile disease.”
DeBess offers these tips for protecting yourself against mosquitoes:
The virus also affects wildlife and domesticated and farm animals.
Last year, three human cases of West Nile virus infection were reported in Oregon, with 52 mosquito pools and three horses also found to be positive for the virus. Malheur County was one of only six Oregon counties with cases in 2022.
People should consult their health care providers if they have these symptoms. Health care providers can contact the Malheur County for information on West Nile virus testing.
Additional information about West Nile virus:
Oregon Health Authority: http://public.health.oregon.gov/DiseasesConditions/DiseasesAZ/WestNileVirus/Pages/survey.aspx
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/index.html
We are honored to share a series of outreach videos from the Malheur County Health Department. We hope seeing our team in action and hearing about what we do will reach more people. We want everyone in Malheur County to know we are here for you. We have something to offer all ages and want to be more active as a resource in our community. Thank you for watching, subscribing, and sharing!
Thank you to the amazing team at Stoltz Group for all the work on our plans, video, and photography.
Follow Stoltz at:
Malheur County Health Department has a new position, Maternal Child Health Supervisor. Registered Nurse Heather Burrows, who has been a Babies First! home visiting nurse with MCHD, has been hired into the position. Welcome, Heather!
Maternal Child Health (MCH) includes home visiting programs and health promotion strategies across the lifespan of individuals and families. MCH staff focus on conception, pregnancy, and early childhood because we believe those experiences create and influence a path for lifelong wellness. While maternal and child health focuses on women and children under five, we also embrace men, teen parents, other caregivers and guardians, resource families (foster care parents), and children over the age of five.
If you are pregnant or have a child under 5 in your home in Malheur County, call us at 541-889-7279 to find out more about free programs available for you, including home visiting, OHP application assistance, vital records, WIC, and immunizations.
MCH is an important public health issue because we have the opportunity to end preventable deaths and severe illness among all women and children and to greatly improve their health and well-being. The health of parents and children is vital to creating a healthy world. Despite great progress, there are still too many mothers and children dying—mostly from causes that could have been prevented.
Worldwide, the outcomes for women and infants are dire:
Most maternal and infant deaths occur in developing countries, however we know that communities of color and tribal communities in the United States experience higher rates of morbidity and mortality during pregnancy and the first year of life. (Morbidity refers to illness or disease. Mortality refers to death.) We are committed to working with partner organizations and community members to make sure our programs and resources are reaching everyone, especially those who experience disparities in health. If you have a program or service serving pregnant women or families with young children, our community will benefit from us working together! Please reach out to Heather at heather.burrows@malheurco.org or call her directly at 541-823-3217.
Protecting maternal and child health in our community requires a system-wide approach, making sure women and other caregivers have access to preconception and early prenatal care, mental health care, child care, birth support, and post-natal and pediatric care after delivery.
Learn more about MCH:
Attention Malheur County WIC participants! Don’t miss the WIC Farmers’ Market Tuesday-Wednesday, July 11-12, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. outside the Malheur County Health Department. Our address is 1108 SW 4th Street in Ontario, across from the TVCC baseball fields. Eligible WIC participants can pick up their $28 worth of WIC Farm Direct checks to use at the Farmers Market (Red Barn Produce will have a stand set up) or at local farm stands through the end of October. If you do not pick up your farm direct checks during the Farmers’ Market, call us at 541-889-7279 after the event and we can mail them to you if we have any left!
English:
Spanish:
The public are welcome to shop from the Red Barn produce stand set up at MCHD on July 11-12 and if you’re a WIC or Senior Farm Direct participant, you can use your Farm Direct checks at the stand. Find the statewide directory and more details about Oregon WIC Farm Direct program here.
Call our office at 541-889-7279 for more information and to learn how we can serve you and your family.
Oregon has a special condom delivery program through ONE Condoms. Starting August 1, 2023, Oregon residents are allowed to receive one free envelope of sexual wellness supplies per month. You can select the size and style of the condoms you would like to receive.
Complete the online order form at https://www.onecondoms.com/pages/oregon.
Please note that all addresses are subject to verification and unverifiable addresses will not receive a shipment. If you have not received your package within 3 weeks of ordering or have general questions, please contact prevention.info@odhsoha.oregon.gov.
Condoms are highly effective in preventing the sexual transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Consistent and correct use of condoms can also prevent unintended pregnancies. You can also receive free condoms at the Malheur County Health Department by walking in anytime during business hours. Find us at 1108 SW 4th Street in Ontario, across from the TVCC baseball fields.
Malheur County Health Department 