Public Health Community Trends

Leavenworth County, Kansas

Mary Lyon

I spoke with Amy Tollefson, who is in the office to address all general Health Questions that come to the front desk, she was hired to be an emergency preparedness professional. 

1. Adult Obesity

           Kansas is currently ranked the 11^th most obese state in the country. In Leavenworth County there are many factors that are contributing to this high percentage. Over half of the restaurants available in the county are fast food, which don’t provide the healthiest options! About 10% of the population are very low-income and have no access to healthy foods that we would find in a grocery store.  About one quarter of the population also report no physical activity during the week. To help with this trend the community has promoted charity walk/run events, more upkeep on parks, Adult classes on healthy eating, emphasis on exercise and healthy lunches in schools, and an increase in recreation center physical activities.

2. Influenza:
           In Leavenworth County there is a large elderly population and this makes infectious disease a trend to watch annually. Influenza tends to trend highly, so flu shots are publicized in every place imaginable. They are offered in a wide variety of places as well, so that more of the populations are able to receive their shots. In this particular county they have had breakouts of H1N1 as well as the avian flu. So experts in the area are always watching that trend to prepare for any sort of epidemic. Amy also informed me that the government recently shifted responsibility for handling a large scale pandemic of flu to the city and county health departments. So they have emergency plans prepared, and have publicized in the county how to safely navigate through the flu season.  Amy also mentioned that along with the Flu, they also emphasize pneumonia shots for the elderly in the community as that can also be a danger.

3. Sexually Transmitted Diseases:
           In Leavenworth County there is an unusually high amount of STD’s reported. It is nearly three times the national benchmark! This is a serious issue, and they are teaching safe sexual practices in schools. The county has gone so far as to hire professionals to visit the high school health classes. Visitors to the health department are offered free sexual protection, but their office attendants try to stress that this does not truly protect against STD’s. Chlamydia tends to be one of the more widely spread here. But HIV is fairly common as well. The county health department offers testing, and there are STD testing clinics in the county as well.

4. Pertussis:
             This year they have had an escalated number of cases of pertussis (whooping cough). They have published press releases that explain how to vaccinate, or update your vaccination with a booster shot called Tdap. Most commonly the cases that have been reported have been in younger children, but often adults and older children are the carriers. In their press release they tried to show when babies should receive their vaccinations so that mothers would be aware if they haven’t taken the necessary steps to protect their children.

5.  Substance Abuse and Violent Crimes

            These two were connected trends in the county. The amount of violent crimes that occur in this county place it in the 90^th percentile of the nation, which is rather high. This county has also had high substance abuse percentages. It has double the national benchmark for excessive drinking, and high reports of illegal drugs as well. It was once the meth capitol, but through public health and legal enforcement working together that percentage has dramatically reduced in the last 7 years. These trends have made the county put a high level of emphasis on drug awareness in the schools to prevent early addictions. There are multiple clinics, classes, and rehabilitation centers for every type of substance abuse to assist those with addictions. The county has also put an emphasis on community events so there are positive activities for families to attend, to assist in keeping families and children away from harmful substances.