 Welcome
Welcome to the Berrien County Health Department website!
Berrien County residents are touched every day in many ways by our services. Every time we eat in a restaurant, need help for health care, or get our children vaccinated for school, the Health Department is involved to make us safer and healthier.
The Berrien County Health Department offers a variety of clinics to the public. Hearing and vision screening for children, HIV/AIDS case management, immunizations, TB control, flu/pneumonia clinics, nursing which provides home visits, school consultations, and chronic and communicable disease control.
Please check out our site for clinic information, schedules and contact information.
NOTE: The Three Oaks office will be closed on Fridays during the month of May.
The Berrien County Health Department can receive contributions for any of its programs. For more information see Contact Us
Hot Topics
Perry Ballard Receives
2008 Friend of Public Health Award!
On May 7, 2008 at the meeting of the Board of Health, Perry Ballard was announced as the 2008 Friend of Public Health. For a list of their accomplishments see Friend of Public Health.
May is Summer Safety Month
With summertime quickly approaching and backyard barbeques, family picnics and outdoor fun on the horizon, the Berrien County Health Department wants to take the opportunity to remind and inform Berrien residents that safety is not an option, but an obligation. Consumers need to know simple steps they can take to prevent illness and injury. Topics to be presented this month include:
Food safety in restaurants and at home
Water inspections, safety and drowning prevention
Avoiding melanoma and skin cancers
Outdoor exercise and injury prevention
Safe and clean graduation parties
Please contact the health department with questions on any of these topics, and to view previously posted articles on a wide variety of health topics, please click here.
2008 Public Preschool Hearing & Vision Clinics
Michigan House Bill 5094 requires childen entering kindergarten present a statement to school officials confirming that they have received MDCH hearing and vision screening. Berrien County Health Department is offering free screenings starting March 27. Click here for the schedule.
Vaccine Safety Realities
A recent ABC television episode of “Eli Stone” portrayed a successful lawsuit against a vaccine manufacturer. This fictional account was filled with misinformation about the safety of childhood vaccinations.
1. Vaccines are the single-most powerful, cost-effective public health intervention ever developed.
2. Vaccines have significantly reduced and, in some cases, eliminated
serious infectious disease.
3. The consequences of a decline in immunization rates could be devastating to the health of our nation’s children.
The reality is vaccines remain safe and effective.
For additional information see:
www.cdc.gov/nip Center for Disease Control
www.immunize.org Immunization Action Coalition
www.vaccinesafety.edu Institute for Vaccine Safety
MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staph Infection)
MRSA is one type of bacterial staph infection. Recently the national media has generated significant attention on MRSA. Whereas MRSA previously was mostly “health care acquired”, now community acquired cases have become much more prevalent. The vast majority of community acquired cases will NOT be severe or life threatening.
For additional information see:
MRSA: Brochure (6.5mb pdf)
MRSA In Schools: An excellent resource is available from the CDC
Berrien County is Smoke Free!
On March 1, 2007 the Berrien County Board of Commissioners passed the Berrien County Clean Indoor Air regulation which requires that all public and private worksites in Berrien County, except for bars and restaurants, tobacco specialty stores and property of the Potawatomi Indian Tribe, become smoke free. The regulation, which became effective on June 1, 2007, will go a long way to protect the health of Berrien's residents. Cigarette smoke contains many toxic and cancerous chemicals that can seriously harm anyone inhaling the smoke around a smoker.
Please join the Partnership for a Smoke Free Berrien, and help us keep Berrien indoor spaces smoke free. Review the Berrien County Clean Indoor Air Regulation and if you see someone smoking in violation of the regulation, please submit a complaint to the health department. Let's all work together to improve the health of our community. |
