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Greene County Public Health seeks 0.8-mil renewal; director highlights local services
Summary
At the Sept. 25 Xenia council meeting Greene County Public Health’s environmental health director, Shadrach Adams, requested support for a 0.8-mil renewal levy and detailed recent work including thousands of maternal-child visits, WIC contacts, food and plumbing inspections, and a GuardCare event that delivered over $600,000 in care.
Shadrach Adams, director of environmental health at Greene County Public Health, told the Xenia City Council on Sept. 25 the health district is seeking a 0.8-mil renewal levy this year and outlined services funded by the agency. Adams said the health department operates three branches — communicable disease, chronic disease and injury prevention, and maternal-child services — and provided recent activity counts to illustrate demand.
Adams told council his office conducted about 3,094 food inspections last year and the plumbing inspectors completed roughly 4,000 plumbing inspections countywide. He said maternal-child staff completed 3,426 visits with new mothers and infants and the WIC program made about 8,400 contacts with families in Greene County during the past year. As one high-profile example, Adams described a GuardCare event at the Greene County Career Center that provided more than $600,000 in medical care over two days (including free eye exams, glasses and more than 1,400 dental procedures) through partnerships with the Ohio National Guard and volunteer providers.
Adams also described outreach methods used to publicize services — including a public-information officer’s use of social-media geofencing, radio advertising and a billboard campaign — and said that GuardCare is a rotating National Guard program so Xenia should not expect it to return on a set schedule. Council members thanked Adams and asked about service locations and communications; Adams said staff will continue work with local partners and that a federally qualified health center has taken new space and expects to occupy a new location by about March.
Adams framed the levy as a renewal that supports continuing the health department’s programs and capacity. No council action was taken on the levy at the meeting; the presentation served to inform local officials before the measure appears on the ballot.
