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Benton County Health Department

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Your County Health Department

Welcome to Benton County Health Department
Mitch Anderson, MA

At Your Service Every Day (PowerPoint Overview)
Benton County enjoys a reputation as a leader in Oregon Public Health, made possible through local funding, support of County administration and citizen volunteers. The department’s 2007 Annual Report outlines an impressive array of health and human service accomplishments provided by dedicated County employees. Successful passage of the local health and safety levy in 2007 has restored some health and mental health services, but insufficient capacity remains a statewide problem for all Oregonians.

Invest in Health
The Oregon Health Policy Commission has noted that public health interventions have had a greater effect on health outcomes than any medical interventions. Life expectancy has quadrupled in the last 150 years due to basic measures such as municipal water treatment, hand washing, food safety measures, vaccination programs, and fortification of food staples such as bread and milk with essential vitamins and minerals. Yet for the first time in American history, a child born today has a shorter life span than her parents. Modern technology has created new obstacles to health in our society, and we are again faced with changing our public environment to maintain and improve the public’s health.

One third of deaths in Oregon can be attributed to just three unhealthy behaviors: tobacco use, lack of physical activity and poor eating habits. These behaviors often result in and exacerbate chronic disease. Heart disease, cancer, stroke, respiratory disease and diabetes account for two of every three deaths on Oregon. Furthermore, one out of every three years of potential life lost before the age of 65 is due to chronic disease . Chronic diseases as well as serious and persistent mental illness reduce the quality of life of individuals, burden families and friends, and are responsible for massive health care expenditures.

Responding Locally
Benton County Health Department works to create and sustain the conditions in which all people in our community can be healthy. To that end, public health and mental health programs serve three core functions: to assess the health status of the entire population (2000 Health Status Report), to advise policy development, and to assure that adequate, competent services are available throughout the community.

In order to be more effective in an environment of diminishing resources, Benton County Health Department improved its delivery system in 2007. Anchored in a statement of organizational values, employees at all levels of the organization worked to enhance county health services. Health Department staff designed improvements of our intake and registration processes, records management, financial policy, and information management systems. These new and integrated protocols plus implementation of Electronic Health Records reflect real progress on the department’s strategic plan.

Legislative Directions
Public Health, Environmental Health and Mental Health made significant strides in the 2007 Legislature. Most notably, HB 2185 updated Oregon’s public health laws and assigned emergency leadership authority to the state Public Health Director. Oregon’s public health system is still insufficient, however, to meet the current and emerging needs of the population.

The 2009 legislative session presents an opportunity to address several pressing health and human service needs, including:

• Improve life-saving emergency medical and trauma services
• Coordinate local and state data systems to prevent childhood deaths, identify health disparities and link families to services
• Assure mandatory long term health care facility inspections
• Reduce childhood obesity to prevent early onset of diabetes and other chronic diseases
• Provide critical prenatal, maternal and infant health services to high risk families
• Develop community systems of mental health care for children and wrap-around mental health services for families
• Provide health insurance to all Oregonians including 60,000 uninsured children
• Create a robust public health emergency preparedness infrastructure able to protect the public in natural disasters and man-made emergencies

Public /Private Partnerships
Public health / mental health departments and health care systems must work together to support health promotion, curative care and effective long term disease management in order to overcome unhealthy behaviors and inefficient care delivery systems facing us today. Benton County Health Department works collaboratively with local health care providers, Linn and Lincoln County Health Departments, Oregon Public Health Division, Oregon State University, local advisory groups, coalitions and community based organizations to maximize resources and develop effective solutions to the growing health disparities in our region.

Benton County Health Department is committed to responsible stewardship of the public’s investment in County health and human services. It is indebted to its partners and outstanding County employees for their ongoing dedication to public service.

1“A Potential Decline in Life Expectancy in the United States in the 21st Century,” S. Jay Olshansky, et. al., The New England Journal of Medicine, March 17, 2005, Volume 352:1138, Number 11.
2 Oregon Vital Statistics Annual Report 2004, Vol. II, Chapter 6. Mortality.
3 Ibid

 

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