Lorain County Health Department Resources

Over the course of the past few weeks I have been working closely with nurses who run the Adult Health Clinic. This clinic, which was first started in 1975, is run by two main nurses who rotate through the eight community sites in Lorain County. The clinic is free of charge for residents age 55 and over. As we've worked on developing and implementing an intervention for this population group, we have also gotten to know many of the clients.

A lot of these clients are regulars of the clinic, having been in attendance for over ten, twenty years. And a lot of them choose to come to the clinic in addition to their physician visits. Here they can receive foot care, immunizations, screenings, lab work, and general health checks concerning chronic conditions and medications. If one thing has stood out to me during my interactions with the older adults, it is that many do not know the name of the medications they are taking and why. There is a huge educational need here.

Outside of the adult health clinics I have also been able to participate in community classes and visits. One such class was a breastfeeding support class offered at Elyria Memorial Hospital. After our postpartum rotation I expected the class to be just that, a class where content was covered and maybe some time with a lactation specialist who could help each mother individually. However, the class was more of a support group. All the women would come in with their babies. The babies would be stripped down to a clean diaper and weighed. The women would then all breastfeed together and towards the end they would weigh the babies again to determine intake.

Although this was a good opportunity for the mothers to ensure that their children were getting enough milk, it was obvious that it was more of a social gathering. All these women were able to come together while taking care of their babies without any uncomfortable stares from strangers or lulls in conversation because all the women were in the same place in their lives. The "class" is available for any mother-baby duo, no matter residency, free of charge.

By participating in the Adult Health Clinic and going to classes and visits throughout the community, I have discovered many opportunities that are available within the community for people in need. Although the Lorain County Health Department aims to protect the health and safety of the public, as healthcare workers outside the health department we should utilize them because although their main mission is to provide public health services, they are a great resource in terms of assistance for individuals.