Logan County Health Commissioner Travis Irvan informed Logan County District Board of Health members at their Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 11, meeting that the health district is partnering to host another a low-cost rabies vaccine clinic, slated for later this month.
The Rascal Unit conducts the local clinic from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Logan County Fairgrounds Merchant Building. The cost is $10 per vaccine, which can be administered to dogs, cats and ferrets.
Additional vaccines, preventative care and microchips will also be available. For dogs, the following vaccines will also be offered: DHLPP or Bordetella, $10 each; Lyme, $33; or influenza, $42; and for cats: FVRCP, $14, or FeLV (leukemia), $20.
The health district has hosted these low-cost clinics ever since passing the countywide rabies control regulation during the summer of 2023, as prompted by concerns brought to the board by the local court system and the Logan County Prosecutor’s Office.
The regulation requires individuals taking a dog, cat or ferret into a place of public accommodation or public facility within Logan County to have the animal previously vaccinated against rabies.
If requested at that public facility, the pet owner would need to show proof of vaccination through a rabies vaccination tag attached to the animal’s collar.
Also at the meeting, Irvan provided updates regarding the recent Logan County Fatality Review Board looking specifically at overdose deaths and suicides this year. He said a number of community partners and agencies convene for the meeting to discuss these difficult subjects, including forming prevention plans around the facts and figures of the particular cases.
In the first half of 2024, the health commissioner said there were four overdose deaths in the county, and also four suicide deaths. He related that some data ties the suicide deaths to the diagnosis of a serious illness, and discussions revolved around how to connect individuals in these very challenging situations with mental health resources and support.
For the those experiencing a mental health crisis, the national suicide and crisis hotline is available by dialing or texting 988. The 24/7 crisis hotline is (800) 224-0422, or text “4HOPE” to 741 741.
During the community health report, Director of Community Outreach Megan Bailey detailed another prevention effort related to overdoses in the community. She recently spoke with representatives from the Bellefontaine Fire and EMS and Indian Lake EMS about joining the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, which would interact with their software when calls are coded as an overdose. The ODMAP would provide the health district with helpful data relating to local overdoses to help drive prevention efforts.
Bailey said both agencies were receptive to joining the initiative, and she will look at potentially reaching out to other EMS agencies in the future.
The director of community outreach also talked about the most recent Wellness Wednesday program Sept. 4, noting that 13 people attended, a nice boost to the program in conjunction with bond reporting being offered that day at the health district, 310 S. Main St.
Wellness Wednesday is offered from 1 to 4 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of each month at the health district, and includes a myriad of support.
The comprehensive harm reduction program provides harm reduction items for participants, such as sterile syringes, alcohol pads, sterile water for injection, Narcan, and fentanyl test strips, along with general wellness services such as tobacco cessation assistance, counseling and behavioral health referrals via Community Health & Wellness and TCN, medication lock boxes and sharps containers for distribution, HIV and syphilis testing, wound care supplies such as band aides and antibiotic ointment, and safe sex kits.
In other action, the board:
• passed the third and final reading for the local public health services collaborative community health fee schedule, which includes a sliding fee schedule;
• approved the 2025 budget appropriations for revenues and expenses;
• welcomed Rachel Sandoval as the new environmental health clerical specialist/deputy registrar, effective Sept. 16;
• approved an out-of-state trip for Irvan to attend the National Association of County and City Health Officials conference in Texas, with all expenses to be paid with grant funds;
• approved the 2025 holiday and staff training schedule; and
• accepted a variance request from owner John Reed to drill a new well at 10393 Seminole Shore Drive, Huntsville.
The next meeting is 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9.