Florida Department of Health in Escambia County

Testing for COVID-19 in Escambia County is ramping up. Earlier this week, Ascension Sacred Heart began a drive-through testing operation. Now, the local capacity for coronavirus testing is widening, as other local health care prepare to offer testing as well.

The annual observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is Friday. It’s held each year on February 7.  

In a program, sponsored by Georgia Blackmon’s non-profit Mother Wit Institute, Rev. Rufus L. Wood from Panama City will be the keynote speaker at a 6 p.m. program at Mount Canaan Missionary Baptist Church at 500 E. Moreno St., Pensacola.  

The beginning of the new school year means parents need to check and see if their young scholars are up to date with their immunizations. In all 50 states children entering kindergarten must have certain vaccines. Some states require as few as four, while one, Connecticut, says they must have nine. Here in Florida, the number is five.

The Florida Departments of Health in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties and their partner organizations recently released their 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment.

The document identifies the top health priorities for both counties for the next couple of years.

A recent study shows that childhood obesity continues to increase across the country. With few exceptions, the rate of obesity among children is also on the rise at the state and local level.

The national study shows 35.1 percent of children in the U.S. were overweight in 2016. That’s a 4.7 percent increase compared to 2014. Overall, the statistics reflect continuation of a three decades rise in obesity among youth from age 2 to 19.

Locally, there’s reason for optimism if you consider the obesity rate among children in the 2-5 year age range.

Each year on February 7, there is a nationwide effort to increase HIV education, testing, community involvement, and treatment among African Americans. 

For communities like Escambia County, the annual observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day takes on added significance.

Pertussis – commonly known as Whooping Cough – is on the rise in Escambia County. Health officials are reminding everyone to get vaccinated – or get a booster. 

Pertussis is a vaccine-preventable disease which is extremely contagious. The vaccine taken as a child doesn’t last a lifetime, so a booster is needed at some point to maintain a level of protection.

The Florida Department of Health in Escambia County is out with a rabies advisory for the Warrington and Navy Point areas, and is on the lookout for any further such cases.

County Health Director Dr. John Lanza says the cases involved a pair of foxes in separate encounters with humans. The most recent attack resulted in the death of that fox.  As for the fox in the first attack, there is uncertainty.

Beginning next month, kids from low-income families in the western Panhandle will get better access to medical and dental care.

Sacred Heart Health System’s Pediatric Care Center is moving from its Pensacola campus to the Florida Department of Health-Escambia’s main office on West Fairfield, to join in a new partnership with Escambia Community Clinics.

“We’ve partnered with Sacred Heart on a couple of venues with residency, one being internal medicine, and then the OB-GYN,” said ECC Executive Director Chandra Smiley.

Local health advocates are going over details in the 2017 County Health Rankings, as part of determining their next moves in improving the collective health of their residents.  

Again this year, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa were among the healthiest counties in the state, while Escambia remained among the least healthy.

For 2017, Santa Rosa remained in the top 10 for the sixth year in a row. The county is now ranked as the seventh healthiest of Florida’s 67 counties, after moving up from its eighth place ranking last year.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is held annually on Feb. 7.  The theme for 2017 is “I am my Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper.”

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, African Americans are the racial/ethnic group most affected by HIV in the United States. That’s also the case in Florida and Escambia County.

January is usually the midway point of the flu season in Florida. The state Department of Health reports that levels of the disease remained elevated overall for a second consecutive week.

Mild influenza activity was reported in 51 counties, including Escambia and Santa Rosa, during the week of January 1-7, the latest available figures. Ten counties reported moderate influenza activity, and six reported no activity.

In 2015, smoking among adults in Florida dropped to 15.8 percent, the lowest it has ever been. State health officials are celebrating the decline and giving much of the credit to passage of a constitutional amendment ten years ago.

In the late 1990's, Florida was one of just four states to craft its own multi-billion dollar settlement with the nation’s big tobacco companies. About a decade later, Florida voters approved a ballot measure mandating that the state use part of that money to provide a dedicated funding source for smoking prevention education.

While the start of football season is occupying the thoughts of many these days, there’s another season beginning soon that deserves just as much attention, if not more. 

Flu season is actually year-round, but the acute period generally begins in October and runs through May of each year, give or take a month or two depending where you live.

Dr. John Lanza is Director of the Florida Department of Health in Escambia County. He and other health officials are calling for everyone over six months of age to get vaccinated.