Ann Cochran
Did you know that the 2020 census will have an impact on your health?
Here's how: more than $675 billion in federal funds will be distributed based on census data. Medicare health insurance, prevention and substance use treatment programs, senior...
The medication naloxone (brand name Narcan) has been in the news recently, because many communities are struggling with opioid overdoses.
Naloxone is a powerful medication that reverses the effects of opioid drugs and often can help an individual to recover...
When was the last time you danced?
The McCreary Community Building in Perry has two licensed Zumba instructors, leading classes on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings. Prices are $5 per class or $25 for a six-class punch...
Think your town doesn’t have any homeless persons?
We don’t always recognize that someone is homeless. Someone might be dressed appropriately, appear fairly healthy, even show up for work or school on a regular basis.
Homelessness comes in many forms and...
If someone says, “I had the flu last week and was in the bathroom for two days,” maybe it was actually norovirus.
Flu (influenza) symptoms are usually fever, cough, runny or stuffy nose, headache, muscle aches and fatigue. Some people,...
Are you too wise to get scammed?
It’s possible even for you to fall for a bargain that turns out to be a rip off.
The Dallas County Health Navigators are often referred to someone having trouble paying their utility bills...
For many of us, it’s a challenge to eat five servings of fruits or vegetables every day, and winter doesn’t make it easier.
Gone are the warm days when you can pick a perfect tomato from your own vine or...
What is a community health worker?
For more than a dozen years, the Dallas County Health Department has been privileged to have a community health worker (CHW) on staff. CHWs are frontline public health specialists with a close understanding of...
As of mid-November, 2,290 cases of lung injury from e-cigarettes or vaping products were reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between August and November, 49 cases occurred in Iowa and Gerd Clabaugh, director of the...
By law, certain health conditions must be reported to the state of Iowa whenever they are diagnosed. Examples of the more than 40 reportable health conditions are tuberculosis, hepatitis A, chlamydia, rabies and lead poisoning.
One of the functions of...
