50 ways the health department affects your life

You may not realize it when you go swimming in a lake, drink water from your tap or flush the toilet, but the health department plays a role in residents' daily lives in more ways than one.

This year, the Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center marks its 50th anniversary. The theme for the year is increasing food safety awareness.

The agency's goals are to promote physical and emotional health, prevent disease, injury and disability, and protect the environment.

Here's a list of 50 ways the health department impacts your life and community.

1. The health department's five community health centers in Waukegan, Zion, Round Lake Beach, North Chicago and Highland Park provide general and family medical services to all Lake County residents, regardless of insurance coverage or ability to pay.

2. Got a pet? The health department connects residents with a spay/neuter program that provides services for low-income pet owners.

3. The health department is responsible for investigating, following up on and managing reportable communicable diseases, including food-borne illnesses. The agency also provides consultation to medical providers and county residents on infection control and infectious disease education.

4. It provides counseling, crisis intervention and psychotherapy to help families and individuals cope with temporary stressful situations, as well as serious and enduring emotional problems.

5. Promotes the health of Lake County women through the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer program, which provides free cervical cancer screenings and mammograms to qualified women.

6. Conducts West Nile virus surveillance to ensure the continued health and education of residents.

7. Helped pass smoke-free legislation in Lake County and Illinois so all residents could breathe cleaner air.

8. Helps children and adolescents and their families get along and work together to resolve behavioral and emotional problems through children and adolescent behavioral services.

9. Ensures the health of babies and moms in the county through a prenatal program, which provides comprehensive medical care to pregnant women who are income-eligible, cannot afford or obtain care, or do not have private insurance.

10. Ensures food is received, stored, prepared and served in a sanitary and wholesome manner at more than 2,000 food establishments, including schools, restaurants, grocery stores, taverns, hospitals, day-care centers and gas stations.

11. Administers childhood and adult immunizations to help preserve the health of all residents.

12. Provides a residential treatment facility for women where they can live with their children while undergoing drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

13. Helps individuals improve interpersonal skills, daily living skills through a mental health group home that encourages clients to move on to living in a less-structured environment.

14. Helps economically disadvantaged and disabled clients further their education and vocational training

15. Monitors Lake Michigan beaches through the novel SwimCast system, which provides accurate, timely information on water quality and conditions.

16. Promote healthy babies through breast-feeding education and peer counseling.

17. Provides a range of behavioral health services at locations in Grayslake, Libertyville, Round Lake Park, Vernon Hills and Waukegan.

18. Provides nutritious supplemental foods and nutrition education at no cost to Lake County's pregnant, breast-feeding and postpartum women, and infants and children up to age 5 through the Women, Infants and Children program.

19. Provides flu shots to all Lake County residents.

20. Provides prevention education programs for school children and their families.

21. Promotes self-confidence and teaches social and independent living skills to the mentally ill to support healthy rehabilitation.

22. Provides thousands of Lake County children physical and dental screenings, immunizations and other health-care services children need to be ready for school each year through the Kids 1st Health Fair.

23. Refers clients to other social service agencies in order to promote emotional and physical well being.

24. Educates community groups, individuals and restaurant owners about the importance of nutrition.

25. Provides blood pressure screenings to help ensure cardiovascular health.

26. Reduces the number of elevated lead level tests for Lake County children through family education and household risk assessments.

27. Administers a prescription drug card program that provides prescription discounts to any county resident and their pets without prescription drug insurance.

28. Helps developmentally delayed children and their families access resources that can help them grow through their delays.

29. Provides tuberculosis testing, treatment and education through the health department's Tuberculosis Clinic.

30. Permits, inspects and samples private and certain public water supplies to ensure water quality for Lake County citizens.

31. Reduces the potential for humans contracting diseases transmitted through organisms such as ticks, mites and rodents.

32. Provides outpatient counseling services.

33. Educates food service workers on the importance of hand-washing and safe food practices.

34. Minimizes the potential for illness and environmental pollution from the use of pesticides.

35. Provides medical examinations, immunizations, health and development appraisals for Lake County children through the Community Health Centers' pediatrics clinics.

36. Provides respite care and crisis counseling.

37. Provides advice and consultation on indoor air quality, lead levels, fluoride concentrations in water and radon gas.

38. Provides HIV counseling, testing, prevention and education.

39. Conducts soil evaluations and plan reviews and issues permits and conducts inspections to ensure individual septic systems are safe and environmentally friendly.

40. Encourages clients to be productive, contributing members of the Lake County community by providing community support services and community case management.

41. Inspects open and closed landfills and compost facilities to assure compliance with permits and regulations. Groundwater is monitored near solid waste facilities to ensure water quality.

42. Investigates animal bites, nuisance, neglect and animal cruelty cases, and provides a lost and found pet service.

43. Educates food facilities and the public about product recalls that could impact their health.

44. Promotes dental health for citizens through clinic dentistry and prevention services available through the Community Health Centers, and at nursing homes and schools throughout Lake County.

45. Ensures the sanitary conditions of bathing beaches, swimming pools and tanning salons.

46. Provides prenatal and parenting classes to Lake County moms, to help promote the health of mom and baby.

47. Provides education, support and resources for Lake County residents who want to quit smoking.

48. Plans for emergency preparedness to ensure Lake County is ready to effectively handle an illness outbreak or bioterrorism incident and launch an innovative medication distribution plan using polling places as distribution points if the need arises for mass medication.

49. Works closely with faith-based groups to reach diverse Lake County populations making public health information accessible to residents by using places they visit frequently.

50. Uses a multiple-disciplinary team to provide specialized outpatient services for individuals with complex behavioral health issues.