Officials report on the health of the county

Jun. 14—LENOIR — On Monday, June 13, Kristy Money and Chaiyo Vang from the Caldwell County Health Department presented to the commissioners the county's Health Report.

The last Community Health Assessment (CHA) was conducted in 2017. It was due to be completed again in 2020; however, because of COVID-19, the assessment was extended until 2023.

Money said that this year, the health department will focus on three priorities: preventative care for Hepatitis A, substance abuse, and youth mental health.

"In recent years, Hepatitis A has been on the rise in Caldwell County," said Money. "The health department has partnerships with Yokefellow, the Lenoir soup kitchen, and several local shelters. We've tried to go in and talk about Hepatitis A, just to educate the people that are there in those shelters, and to implement the Hepatitis A vaccine ... We also offer Hepatitis A and STD testing at the health department."

The second goal is to treat and prevent substance abuse throughout the county.

Drug Free Caldwell, previously known as Project Lazarus, is a coalition whose mission is to create a more connected and healthy community for adults and youth by reducing substance abuse and providing comprehensive education.

Several agencies also participate in Drug Free Caldwell, such as Jonas Hill Hospital, Caldwell County Schools, the Granite Falls Police Department, UNC Healthcare, and, of course, the health department. In addition, local pharmacies and primary care providers also serve on the board.

Another program is the RESTART program, which is a local nonprofit established in September 2021 that aims to assist and treat those who suffer from opioid addictions. This program is grant-funded and housed under the Caldwell County EMS.

The health department's third goal is to focus on youth mental health by compiling various resources, including counseling, health services, and services for children in foster care, in addition to other children throughout the county.

"The opening of Jonas Hill Hospital and Clinic has helped with a lot of resources and mental health in our county," Money said. "We also continue to partner with RHA and Bayou Health. Despite COVID-19's influence on public health resources, we still try to implement many initiatives that targets our focus groups of preventative care, substance abuse, and mental health."

Vang next spoke at the county commissioners' meeting in regards to morbidity and mortality rates in the county, both before and during the pandemic.

From January 2021 until December 2021, Caldwell County had over 15,000 cases of COVID-19. The health department collected over 4,000 COVID-19 tests, and there have been over 300 deaths in the county since the start of the pandemic. COVID-19 cases are currently going up, and the health department is striving to mitigate these increasing numbers by keeping the public properly educated about preventing the spread of the virus.

In 2020, the leading cause of death in the county was heart disease, with cancer as the second and chronic lower respiratory disease as the third. In 2021, after COVID-19 rates, heart disease was still the number one cause of death and cancer was still second.

Vang said that when the health department conducted this assessment, they found some issues emerging in Caldwell County.

The first issue is the infant mortality rate. Nationally, the rate is 5.7%, but here in Caldwell the infant mortality rate is 7.2%.

"So the health department recognized that in order to overcome that deficit, we decided to partner with local pregnancy care centers to prevent infant mortality," said Vang.

The second issue, according to Vang, is syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that can cause serious health problems.

"In order to mitigate that, we collaborated with agencies that will continue to refer patients to third-party institutes such as the health department," Vang said. "We do vaccinations and tests to help them out."

In 2022, there have already been 20 cases of syphilis that are currently being monitored. Last year, there were 19 cases.

As previously mentioned, the other major issue the health department is facing right now is the increasing number of Hepatitis A cases.

"That was another emerging issue that we found," said Vang. "People did not know they have Hepatitis A, so they spread it without realizing it."

In 2021, Caldwell County was identified as a Hepatitis A outbreak with 40 positive cases; 23 of those cases were male, and 17 were female.

According to Caldwell County's COVID-19 dashboard, there have been a total of 26,760 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the last report on Wednesday, June 8.

The total number of deaths in the county has reached 309, as reported by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS).

Presently, seven people in the county are hospitalized due to COVID-19. There are currently 48 active cases.

Vaccination rates for the county show that 50% of the population is vaccinated with one dose, 48% of people are vaccinated with two doses or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson, and 25% of the population is vaccinated with at least one booster or additional dose.

Health officials urge individuals to get vaccinated as soon as possible in order to slow the spread of the virus.

The health department administers vaccines Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. On Wednesdays, the department administers Pfizer for children age 12 or older. Moderna is for adults 18 and older.

For information about appointments at other locations, visit www.vaccinefinder.org or www.myspot.nc.gov.

Moreover, anyone experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should get tested immediately. Individuals who have had close contact with someone who has COVID-19, even if they are not experiencing symptoms, should get tested five days after exposure.

To schedule a free COVID-19 test or vaccine appointment, call 828-426-8400. Same-day appointments may be available.

Visit www.caldwellcountync.org/coronavirus-covid-19/dashboard for more information.