Marshall County Health Dept. provides commissioners with 2024 stats

On Tuesday, Sandy Dunfee, Administrator with the Marshall County Health Department, gave the County Commissioners a rundown of the 2024 stats.

The County Health Department issues 105 septic permits, 92 well permits and just over 400 food permits.  The environmental Division also handled 88 animal bite reports with one being a bite from a spider monkey and 2 were bites from a mole.  They were also able to investigate 22 recordable complaints where citizens gave the necessary information to act on the complaint by an investigation. 

Under the nursing division the county health department administered almost 4,000 immunizations to nearly 2,000 patients. They also conducted 40 vaccine clinics at schools, after regular hours, or in home during 2024.  The county nurse also screened over 300 children during 15 hearing clinics and tested the vision of over 200 children.  Dunfee said the health department conducted 44 lead screenings compared to 10 in 2023 and did 9 lead assessments going into the home with equipment to try and determine the source of the lead exposure. She said the Amish community is very interested in the lead testing for their children.  The county nurse had 220 latent TB which means they have TB but may have had it for quite some time and 2 active tuberculosis cases in the county last year and both cases have been cleared. The health department also tested over 70 people for sexually transmitted diseases and almost 600 communicable disease investigations including Hep C, pertussis, Lyme disease or chickenpox.  

The Vital Records Department issued 129 birth certificates in 2024 and 370 death certificates and dispensed over 500 doses of Narcan.  The Health Department is currently working on placing Narcan boxes throughout the county in the Culver, Argos Bremen, and Bourbon Police Departments and at the LaPaz, Tyner and Tippecanoe Fire Departments.  They have also given out over 2,400 condoms, 16,000 diapers, purchased 3 ADEs for the community, collected over 9,000 sharps and given out over 70 sharps containers.  The county health department also provided 7 blood drives with the South Bend Medical Foundation and collected almost 100 units of blood.  Dunfee said that will continue in 2025 with the South Bend Medical Foundation coming to the County Building every 6 weeks.