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Health officials to mark 70th anniversary with celebration
By Lynn Hotaling
Despite this year's shortage of flu vaccine, the Jackson County Department of Public Health still has plenty of reasons to celebrate.
During a Saturday, Oct. 16, event, the health agency will mark its 70th year of service to Jackson County with games, free medical screenings, food, fun and give-aways. The celebration, which begins at 10 a.m. and continues until 3 p.m., will include a hot dog lunch, cholesterol and glucose screenings, blood pressure checks, pet adoptions, fluoride varnishes, face painting, child DNA indentification and fingerprinting, learning activities, play tattoos and much more.
Jackson County Department of Public Health lab supervisor Julie Creasmon draws blood from Amy Eller during a Tuesday morning clinic. – Herald photo by Carey King
"Everyone in Jackson County is invited to come out and help us mark this special occasion," said Paula Carden, Health Department Director.
When public health got under way here seven decades ago, Jackson County was part of a public health district that also included Macon, Cherokee, Graham and Clay counties and the Cherokee Indian Reservation, said Randall Turpin, who retired last year after more than 25 years as director.
According to Turpin, North Carolina has a proud tradition in public health that stretches back more than a century to 1877, when the state board of health was established.
North Carolina had the first county health department (Guilford, established in 1911) and the first rural health department (Robeson County), Turpin said.
Jackson County Board of Health Chairman June Shelton, left, and Jackson County Commissioners Veronica Nicholas, center and Robert Blanton were on hand for 1981 groundbreaking ceremonies for the Health Department addition at the Community Service Center.
Between the years of 1943 and 1945, Haywood and Transylvania counties were added to the local health district, he said, with Jackson, Macon and Swain splitting off to form their own district in 1945. Jackson remained part of that three-county district for 30 years, forming an independent county health agency in 1975.
In those early days of public health, state statutes required that each county have a health director, a nurse and a sanitarian, even in multiple-county districts, Turpin said.
"The sanitarian spent a lot of time inspecting 'privies' (outhouses) in those days," Turpin said.
Health department directors were primarily physicians until the mid-1960s, when more administration became necessary, Turpin said.
First-grade student Keith Cooke, 7 years old in this 1956 Herald photo, received the first polio shot given in Jackson County. His mother, Mrs. Harold Cooke, holds his hand as Dr. T.D. Slagle administers the vaccine at Scotts Creek School. More than 700 first- and second-graders received the vaccine during the first week it was offered. Slagle was the health officer for the Health District, which at the time included Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.
Each local health department in North Carolina is an autonomous unit that operates according to rules stipulated by the state Board of Health, Turpin said. An 11-member local Board of Health oversees Jackson County's operations, and eight of those 11 positions must be filled as mandated by the state.
The Board of Health includes a physician (Dr. Ron Fisher), a nurse (Linda Servoss), a pharmacist (Kim Cowan), a veterinarian (Doug Homolka), a dentist (David McGuire), a county commissioner (Joe Cowan), an optometrist (Tom Turrentine), an engineer (Jerry DeWeese) and three community members (Joyce Lovin, chairman; Ginger Fullbright and Nell Sanford).
Jackson County's Board of Health meets quarterly, with its next meeting set for today (Thursday).
The Board of Health employs the Health Department director, though their selection must be approved by state health officials, and the director then hires Health Department staff members.
"It's done this way to maintain balance and reduce political influence," Turpin said.
Jackson County's Health Department has grown from a budget of $183,023 when Turpin arrived in 1977 to some $3.3 million today, he said.
The department's biggest growth spurt came in 1981-82, around the time WIC, a supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children, was added to the Department's services, Turpin said.
Turpin credits much of today's improved quality of life to "battles" fought by public health officials in the second half of the 20th century to eliminate or control epidemic diseases including typhoid, diptheria, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, polio and smallpox. Those diseases were conquered through a combination of education, improved sanitation and vaccinations, he said.
Today's health officials face different foes, Turpin said. Increased population densities and people who spend more time indoors have led to an emphasis on "invisible" contaminants found in the air and water. Another current focus is on lifelong health problems like obesity, he said.
In looking back over his career in public health – he's still working part time despite his retirement – Turpin said physician and community support have played a key role.
"One thing that needs to be truly noted is the strength of public health based on physicians' and community support," Turpin said. "At no time has there been a doctor who denied care to Health Department patients. This is a wonderful community."
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