CONTACT: Mary Young, Division of Public Health, (608) 266-2757

PUBLIC HEALTH MADISON AND DANE COUNTY PASSES REVIEW BY STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS

MADISON—Dr. Seth Foldy, State Health Officer, today announced that the Public Health Madison and Dane County has successfully passed the state’s health department review. As a result, the Public Health Madison and Dane County will maintain its Level III status.

“The hard-working staff of Public Health Madison and Dane County helps make their community a healthier and safer place to live,” said Foldy. “Their department has an actively engaged and supportive Board of Health, and does an excellent job of engaging a supportive community network to solve local public health problems.”

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is required to formally review the operations of all 92 Wisconsin local health departments at the county or municipality level at least every five years. The review establishes the health department as a level I, II or III agency. A level I agency meets the minimum requirements and a level III agency meets the maximum requirements established for a local health department.

Public Health Madison and Dane County provides services important to the community, such as:

Children's Dental Health Program: This is a partnership between the Madison Area Technical College Dental Hygiene Program and the health department through which preventive and restorative dental care and comprehensive health education is provided to Dane County children ages 4-18 years who are uninsured and low income children. In one year 150-200 children were served.

Emergency Response to H1N1: Beginning in April 2009 the health department and their community partners planned a coordinated response to H1N1. As a result school-based immunization clinics were conducted beginning in October. About 15,000 students were vaccinated. And over 6,000 people at high risk for complications from H1N1 were vaccinated at community clinics. A key to the success of this effort was the use of Outbreak and Communication Teams to make sure that community received information most relavent to them.

Quality Drinking Water: There are 34 public water utilities that supply households and businesses in Dane County communities. In addition, Dane County has about 22,000 private drinking water wells. The health department established an automated calling system system that can be used to contact residents with private wells during an emergency to advise them on what action they should take to assure safe water.

For information about the Public Health Madison and Dane County, visit: http://www.publichealthmdc.com/

For contact information for Wisconsin’s local health departments, visit:
http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/localhealth/

For information about the state health plan, Healthiest Wisconsin 2010 or 2020, visit:
http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/statehealthplan/index.htm

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Last Revised:  July 12, 2010