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ADAMS COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT HISTORY
FROM THE ADAMS COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT’S FIRST ANNUAL
REPORT, JULY, 1946
In 1939, due to the evidenced needs for
public health in the way of school nursing services and
sanitation problems, the Adams County Rural Health Lay Board was
organized and with the cooperation of the Tuberculosis
Association succeeded in petitioning the County Board of
Supervisors to employ a Public Health Nurse to work with the
County schools. For a time this first Public Health Nurse worked
out of the County Court House under the supervision of the
County Superintendent of Schools. Later her headquarters were
established in the office of the Adams County Tuberculosis
Association in order to coordinate public health services in the
county and to provide nursing supervision.
Adams County Public Health services were
broadened to a great extent on November 1, 1942, when the State
Department of Public Health, through the authority vested in it
by the Governor of Illinois, established the Adams County
Defense Zone Health Department. At this time there were several
factories producing war materials in this area.
Doctor H.O. Collins, Health Officer for
Quincy Public Health District, was appointed to serve, in
addition, as Health Officer for the Adams County Defense Zone
Health Department. The first personnel consisted of a
Supervising Nurse in addition to the County Nurse employed by
the Board of Supervisors, and two clerk stenographers. Late in
1943, a Health Educator was loaned by the State Department of
Public Health to serve both the city and county departments.
In 1943, through the efforts of the
Illinois Statewide Public Health Committee with which the Adams
County Rural Health Lay Board was affiliated, the
Searcy-Clabaugh Bill was passed by the legislature and was
signed into law by Governor Green on July 9, 1943. It is
generally known as the “Searcy-Clabaugh Law”. The law provided
for a one-half mill tax to be levied for the purpose of
establishing and maintaining full-time county or multiple county
health departments by resolution of county boards or upon
approval by referendum.
In the case of Adams County, the Rural
Health Lay Board proposed the idea of a full-time Adams County
Health Department to the Board of Supervisors, who reacted
favorably. It was necessary for the Rural Health Lay Board to
get out petitions to be signed by 5% of the voters of two-thirds
of the townships in Adams County. The question was, “Are you in
favor of a County Health Department in Adams County?” The Adams
County Rural Health Lay Board with the cooperation of many
county organizations and agencies, succeeded in carrying on an
extensive educational program throughout Adams County for the
purpose of telling the people about the services afforded by
departments of health.
The proposition was placed on a special
ballot at the regular general county election held on November
7, 1944. The returns coming in the next day showed the vote to
be better than 3 to 1 in favor of a County Health Department.
The people had spoken.
The next step was for the Chairman of the
Board of Supervisors to appoint a Board of Health, to be
approved by the County Board of Supervisors. Such Board of
Health was to consist of seven members, two physicians, one
dentist, and four other persons known to have an interest in
public health and to be as representative of the county as
possible.
During this time much interest was growing
in regard to consolidating the city and county health
departments into one over all Adams County Health Department.
This interest was strengthened when the Adams County Community
Chest published its Health and Welfare Survey, which listed
consolidation of the city and county health departments as a
major recommendation for improving public health in this area.
In order to make a consolidation possible it was necessary for
the citizens of Quincy to disband the Quincy Public Health
District, which was organized in 1922 under the Coleman Act, set
up for city health departments, by referendum so that city
health taxes would be automatically turned over to Adams County
Health Department for continuing to provide services for the
entire county, but managed by one organization.
In April 1945, at the regular general
election for offices of the city of Quincy, a special ballot was
placed on the ticket in regard to disbanding the Quincy Public
Health District, which would make combination possible. The
proposition lost, due, no doubt, to misunderstanding or lack of
information by the voters of Quincy.
However, on August 1, 1945, The Adams
County Health Department was moved to the third floor of the
Majestic Building from the Detention Home where it had been
located as the Adams County Defense Zone Health Department.
Since the Quincy Public Health District was located in this
building, this made for better supervision by the Health Officer
over the two departments. The personnel at this time was as
follows: one Health Officer, one Supervising Nurse, three
Registered Nursed, one Health Educator, and two
clerk-stenographers.
During the Board’s first year of managing
the many problems which it faced as a new organization, several
committees were necessarily appointed for such problems as
emergency business details, publicity, needed advisory groups,
and financial work. The Board has succeeded in establishing a
workable bookkeeping system, budget recording system, and
permanent personnel policies for the staff. It is felt that the
Board succeeded in establishing a firm basis for the management
of the County Health Department, from which a sound organization
grew.
The second ballot for consolidation of the
two health departments took place April 1, 1947 and the results
were reversed, and consolidation went into effect one year
later; April 1, 1948.
The program is a broad one entailing many
activities. Every public health activity is based on scientific
knowledge, which has been developed into an educational program
for the purpose of promoting good health practices. Such
programs are presented to the citizens of the community in order
to provide them with health information, which fills the gaps of
knowledge, and to promote an intelligent appreciation of
healthful living.
Many media of health education in the form
of motion pictures, radio, newspaper, exhibits, distribution of
literature, and community organization have been recognized as
effective tools of communication which are necessary to cover
the total picture in a community health program. All of these
media have been used effectively in community-wide programs.
The major activities of the health
department center around that of Public Health Nursing, School
Health, Sanitation, Public Health Dentistry, Administration and
Health Education. Looking into each activity a little further,
we find a very complete total Health program.
For example, lets consider the public
health nursing activities. Public Health Nursing is recognized
as an essential part of the community health program, and the
nurses on the staff of the Adams County Health Department play
an important role in this program. The aim of the public health
nursing service is prevention of illness through control of
communicable disease, promoting healthful living for the school
child and assist in eradicating venereal disease and
tuberculosis.
Many factors are involved in the community
health program and not only must the nurse be aware of the
medical problems, but she also must have an awareness of the
social and economic problems which confront the families of her
district.
In the services rendered by the health
department, the nurses took an active part. The nurses assisted
in clinics conducted for Immunization, Crippled Children,
Venereal Disease, Cancer and Tuberculosis.
The nurse makes home calls for the control
of communicable diseases, venereal disease, tuberculosis and
follow-up on school children with defects of vision, hearing,
cardiac, dental and crippling. They also assist the sanitarians
in inspecting Day Nurseries and Nursing Homes. Other services to
the community may be classified as teaching classes, showing
films, giving talks and explaining Health Department services to
student nurses, girl scouts, baby sitters, high school students,
teachers, parent-teacher associations, expectant mothers and
home bureau units. An excellent health education program.
School Health is an important function and
is one of the major activities of our public health nurses. For
example, a nurse visits each school in the city once a week and
in the county an initial visit is made in the fall and on
request thereafter. However, due to the heavy school program
many visits are made regarding dental, immunization, hearing and
vision, tuberculin testing, summer round-up and various other
programs.
The promotion of Dental Health Education is
one of the most fundamental functions of the health department.
The importance of healthy teeth is unquestioned and yet dental
caries are more prevalent than any other single disease
condition.
The Dental Clinic was organized in Quincy
during March 1922, and has served all city school children
unable to afford dental care since. Now that we have a
consolidated city and county health department, the clinic is
open to all children of Adams County, between the ages of 5-14
who are dentally indigent.
Nothing is more basic in a public health
program than the provision and maintenance of good environmental
sanitation. It is realized that if prevention of disease is to
be thorough, it must go behind the individual and deal with the
very habits of society; that is the object of sanitation.
While the Division of Sanitation has been
concerned during the years with all the various phases of the
public health program covered by environmental hygiene,
prominence has been placed on those problems, which have the
greatest direct bearing on the health of the citizens of the
county.
Activities of this division are concerned
with inspections of food and drink establishments, collecting
water samples, dairy sanitation, supervision of swimming pools,
bathing beaches, camps, school sanitation, housing, industrial
hygiene, and other public health work of significance.
Education of the public in regard to the
principles of environmental hygiene is reducing the necessity of
enforcement. Information on garbage disposal, vermin control,
and sanitation in the home are made available to the public
through this division.
The department cooperated with many
agencies in an effort to improve the health of children, to
reduce the infant mortality rate, and to lower the maternal
mortality. Public Health Nurses make many home visits in the
interest of the health of infants.
Summer Round-up centers are conducted and
children are screened for physical and dental examinations. This
program is conducted in accordance with the Illinois Health and
Physical Education Law, which states that the school child shall
have a complete physical and dental examination before entering
school and every four years thereafter. In addition, the nurses
conduct interviews with teachers, pupils, and parents. An
intensive educational program is also conducted.
Public Health laboratory services have
become one of the increasingly important functions of the Adams
County Health Department. By performing tests for communicable
diseases and regular examinations of the mild and water
supplies, the staff is helping to safeguard the health of our
community.
Usually the laboratory serves as a
distributing center for biological products furnished by the
Illinois State Department of Public Health, however, for the
purpose of convenience biologics are distributed by the Health
Officer to physicians on request. In addition to the service of
our laboratory, many specimens are tested by the Illinois Public
Health Laboratory.
Regarding Administration, there is always
the task of budgets, personnel policies, filing, handling
correspondence, and general office routines such as reports
confronting the Health Officer and his staff. Careful collection
and proper use of Vital Statistics are most important to the
Health Department. This division keeps certified records on
births and deaths. It also keeps an active file on current cases
and a closed file of discharged cases of all reportable
diseases. It is through analysis of the causes of sickness and
death that the health department is able to evaluate the results
of public health measures. Vital Statistics is the bookkeeping
of public health and future programs rest upon the use of this
data.
Public Health progress in Adams County has
come a long way – from a City Health Department with a few
employees to a large County Health Department and twenty-one
enthusiastic health workers. Naturally, we look forward to a
still better health program for the people of our county.
We look forward to the day-
- When an ordinance requires all food
establishments to obtain a permit from the Board of Health,
in accordance with the Illinois Sanitary Food Law.
- When every child is immunized against
whooping cough, diphtheria, and small pox by one year of
age.
- When the Quincy Milk Ordinance is
extended to include all of Adams County.
- When every birth is registered and
each communicable disease is reported promptly to the health
department.
- When the Division of Public Health
Nursing has one full-time certified public health nurse for
every 5,000 unit population.
- When every person in Adams County has
an annual chest x-ray for the eradication of tuberculosis.