About

Lorain County Public Health (LCPH) is a local public health agency that serves Lorain County, Ohio. We are led by our own board appointed by local mayors, city managers, and township trustees. We are responsible for all cities, townships, and villages in Lorain County except the City of Vermilion, which receives services from the Erie County Health Department.

We serve and support a healthy community. Health means more than just not being sick. It's physical, mental, and social well-being.

Public health does this	...not that
Prevents disease in an entire population	...rather than treat one person at a time.
Inspects and educates restaurants on safe food handling	...instead of treating food poisoning.
Makes it easier to quit tobacco and harder to start	...instead of treating lung cancer.
Investigates and addresses root causes of babies born prematurely	...instead of treating premature babies.

Lorain County Public Health is an academic health department.

What this means:

· LCPH signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kent State University (KSU) in spring 2024

· The purpose of this designation is to provide a learning environment for students beyond that of a typical internship

· KSU students will someday have the opportunity to take a KSU class at LCPH

o Students will get paid, as they will be doing LCPH work

o It will be part of KSU's course catalogue

o It will be available to multiple students at a time

· LCPH has committed to...

o Providing learning space for students

o Providing access to physical and electronic materials to accomplish the goals of the class

· This designation benefits LCPH...

o LCPH meets quarterly with KSU public health dean; the conversation helps deans prepare students for work in a local health department

o Students perform actual LCPH work that contributes to our mission

Lorain County Public Health's impact

Public health focuses upstream.

Upstream factors in a person’s life - social determinants such as safe housing, education, and access to nutritious food - have a significant influence on health. LCPH focuses on upstream issues to prevent disease and injury in the entire Lorain County population. Upstream avenues include policy, systems, and environmental changes.

Inspecting and educating to prevent food poisoning: Ohio Revised Code 3717 requires the inspection of retail food establishments and food service operations. LCPH completes over 3,000 inspections of places that serve food in Lorain County annually. By inspecting these places and educating the managers and staff, LCPH helps prevent dangerous cases of food poisoning.

Data to help guide decisions: Analyzing data helps LCPH determine the most pressing upstream health factors and the best way to address them. To make sure everyone has access to health data for decision-making, LCPH epidemiologists releases data briefs on timely health topics.

Active transportation plans (ATPs): Cities adopt ATPs to ensure they consider walking, biking, and other human-powered travel when making community-wide decisions.

Improving maternal vitality: The infant mortality rate for Black babies is nearly twice that of white babies, and racism contributes to this health disparity. To help address racism, LCPH co-leads the Lorain County Health Equity Task Force. The group earns grants to improve housing and prevent violence.

How public health assists personal prevention downstream.

Personal prevention services address health issues downstream - on the individual level - to prevent future problems. LCPH achieved the following results through these personal prevention services in 2023.

Naloxone to prevent opioid overdose deaths: LCPH provided 6,191 naloxone (Narcan) rescue kits in 2023. LCPH addressed transportation barriers by delivering 591 of those kits through the mail and 689 kits during street outreach. Also, Nalox boxes were installed at 29 community locations. Collectively, these efforts resulted in a reported 346 saves.

Milk donation coordination: 4,000 ounces of breastmilk were donated to the OhioHealth Mothers’ Milk Bank. After getting screened and approved, donors dropped off milk at WIC. OhioHealth pasteurized the milk and distributed it to hospitals throughout the state.

Prescription assistance: 4,333 prescriptions were filled at no or low cost for people who are uninsured to help prevent future problems. The program saved participants a total of $789,515.

Support to prevent adverse health outcomes in children: LCPH served 1,774 children through the Complex Medical Help (CMH) program. LCPH nurses helped parents and guardians of children with healthcare needs get family-centered, community-based services to help prevent future medical and financial problems.