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Public Health Services

Penny Borenstein, M.D., M.P.H. - County Public Health Officer
(805) 781-5500

After business hours, to report a Public Health Emergency or urgent Communicable Disease condition, call 805-781-4550 to reach a Public Health official.

OUR MISSION

To promote, preserve and protect the health of all San Luis Obispo County residents through disease surveillance, health education, direct services, and health policy development.

Mosquito Information
Information from the County of San Luis Obispo Environmental Health Services and California Department of Public Health can be found on the Mosquito Information website.

Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium known as a spirochete. People get Lyme disease when a tick infected with the bacterium attaches and feeds on them. An infected tick must be attached and feeding for at least a day before it can transmit the spirochetes. In California, the western blacklegged tick transmits the bacterium that causes Lyme disease in humans. For more information please read the informational pamphlets linked below:

Lyme Disease Pamphlet - English
Lyme Disease Pamphlet - Spanish

Make 2012 Your Year to Quit Smoking

New Years resolutions can be hard to keep especially when that resolution is to quit smoking. Let us help you make quitting smoking a little easier.

San Luis Obispo County Tobacco Control Program offers local help to quit smoking. The Tobacco Control Program offers free quit smoking classes avaliable to all residents in San Luis Obispo County.

For information about the next avalible session of classes call (805) 781- 5564.

The CDC produces a web site with helpful tips to help you kick the habit and resorces to support you on your quit! To go to the CDC's website, click the picture to the left.

QUICK REFERENCE LINKS

Advance Health Care Directives Information
Healthcare 411 (news series produced by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
HIPAA Compliance Information
Medical Marijuana Identification Card Program
Public Health Bulletins
Public Health Forms
Public Health Services Org Chart - Overview

PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

The mission of the San Luis Obispo County Emergency Preparedness & Response Program is to protect the public and ensure that the County’s first responders and health care system are prepared to respond to public health emergencies in an effective and coordinated manner. Go to the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Webpage

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

Prevents exposure to toxic substances, diseases, unsanitary conditions, and other environmental hazards through education and enforcement. Programs include hazardous materials management, food safety, water quality, recreational water and swimming pool monitoring, and solid waste facility oversight.
Go to Environmental Health Services Webpage

FAMILY HEALTH SERVICES

Provides preventive health clinical services such as family planning, Immunizations , tuberculosis and sexually-transmitted disease control, Epidemiology , Communicable Disease Control and Prevention , Maternal Child Health Programs , Field Nursing Programs , California Children's Services , Child Health and Disability Prevention Program , Medical Therapy Program , Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program , Foster Care Program and outreach programs.
Go to Family Health Services Webpage

HEALTH CARE SERVICES

County funded or supported health care services to include the County Medical Services Program, Law Enforcement Medical Care and subcontracts with Community Health Centers of the Central Coast and Emergency Medical Services, Inc.

County Medical Services Program (CMSP): The program authorizes medical care for eligible County residents between ages 21 and 64 who do not qualify for MediCal benefits, who do not qualify for other public Healthcare assistance programs, and who are unable to pay their medical care.

Law Enforcement Medical Care (LEMC) : Medical care for juvenile wards while they are residing in the Juvenile Services Center and medical care for adults incarcerated in the County jail.

Emergency Medical Services
The SLO County Public Health Department has been designated by the County Board of Supervisors as the County's Local Emergency Medical Services Agency (LEMSA). The agency works with the local emergency medical care delivery system to develop appropriate policies and protocols for prehospital patient care and operations, and evaluates and oversees the performance of local emergency transport providers and prehospital specialty care systems. The agency certifies Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), accredits local Paramedics, and authorizes local Mobile Intensive Care Nurses(MICNs).

County subcontracts with

Community Health Centers of the Central Coast : County funds to support primary medical care for County residents who have MediCal or Medicare, CMSP, or who are uninsured.

HEALTH PROMOTION

The Health Promotion Division works within the community to promote healthy behaviors. Along with a focus on individual change in behavior, we encourage the adoption of community wide improvements that benefit public health. Our programs include:

Tobacco Control Program - Offers free cessation classes and free nicotine replacement therapies to the community. We also work with local jurisdictions on policies to restrict the use of tobacco.

Obesity Prevention Program - Works with community partners in the HEAL-SLO collaborative to reduce the rate of childhood obesity. We also offer workshops on certain nutrition topics.

Women Infants and Children (WIC) - Is a national program which offers nutrition education and food vouchers to low-income women and their children - from pregnancy to the age of 5.

Oral Health Program - Offers preventative oral care to the residents, with a focus on children 0-5 years of age.

HIV/AIDS Program - The HIV/AIDS Program works to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS in the County and to provide care and support services to those affected by the disease.

Injury Prevention Program - The injury prevention program is in the planning stages and will most likely launch in August of 2012.

Other programs may be offered, based on funding availability.
Go to the Health Promotion Webpage

PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY

Provides high quality and timely testing services for communicable disease diagnosis, water quality and animal diseases including Rabies.
Go to the Public Health Laboratory Webpage

SAN LUIS OBISPO HEALTH COMMISSION
The Health Commission was formed in 1994 to serve as an advisory board to the County Board of Supervisors and the County Public Health Agency on matters of health care in the County. The Commission meets monthly in a public venue and is a cooperative effort among consumers, and indirect and direct providers of health care services. The Commission consists of 11 volunteer appointees who are residents of San Luis Obispo County, of which 6 are consumer representatives, 3 are direct providers (e.g., physicians, nurses and dentists), and 2 are indirect providers (e.g., medical office managers and hospital administrators). Go to the San Luis Obispo Health Commission

	Mosquito Information Information from the County of San Luis Obispo Environmental Health Services and California Department of Public Health can be found on the Mosquito Information website.
	Lyme Disease Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium known as a spirochete. People get Lyme disease when a tick infected with the bacterium attaches and feeds on them. An infected tick must be attached and feeding for at least a day before it can transmit the spirochetes. In California, the western blacklegged tick transmits the bacterium that causes Lyme disease in humans. For more information please read the informational pamphlets linked below: Lyme Disease Pamphlet - English Lyme Disease Pamphlet - Spanish
	Make 2012 Your Year to Quit Smoking New Years resolutions can be hard to keep especially when that resolution is to quit smoking. Let us help you make quitting smoking a little easier. San Luis Obispo County Tobacco Control Program offers local help to quit smoking. The Tobacco Control Program offers free quit smoking classes avaliable to all residents in San Luis Obispo County. For information about the next avalible session of classes call (805) 781- 5564. The CDC produces a web site with helpful tips to help you kick the habit and resorces to support you on your quit! To go to the CDC's website, click the picture to the left.

PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS The mission of the San Luis Obispo County Emergency Preparedness & Response Program is to protect the public and ensure that the County’s first responders and health care system are prepared to respond to public health emergencies in an effective and coordinated manner. Go to the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Webpage
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES Prevents exposure to toxic substances, diseases, unsanitary conditions, and other environmental hazards through education and enforcement. Programs include hazardous materials management, food safety, water quality, recreational water and swimming pool monitoring, and solid waste facility oversight. Go to Environmental Health Services Webpage
FAMILY HEALTH SERVICES Provides preventive health clinical services such as family planning, Immunizations , tuberculosis and sexually-transmitted disease control, Epidemiology , Communicable Disease Control and Prevention , Maternal Child Health Programs , Field Nursing Programs , California Children's Services , Child Health and Disability Prevention Program , Medical Therapy Program , Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program , Foster Care Program and outreach programs. Go to Family Health Services Webpage
HEALTH CARE SERVICES County funded or supported health care services to include the County Medical Services Program, Law Enforcement Medical Care and subcontracts with Community Health Centers of the Central Coast and Emergency Medical Services, Inc. County Medical Services Program (CMSP): The program authorizes medical care for eligible County residents between ages 21 and 64 who do not qualify for MediCal benefits, who do not qualify for other public Healthcare assistance programs, and who are unable to pay their medical care. Law Enforcement Medical Care (LEMC) : Medical care for juvenile wards while they are residing in the Juvenile Services Center and medical care for adults incarcerated in the County jail. Emergency Medical Services The SLO County Public Health Department has been designated by the County Board of Supervisors as the County's Local Emergency Medical Services Agency (LEMSA). The agency works with the local emergency medical care delivery system to develop appropriate policies and protocols for prehospital patient care and operations, and evaluates and oversees the performance of local emergency transport providers and prehospital specialty care systems. The agency certifies Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), accredits local Paramedics, and authorizes local Mobile Intensive Care Nurses(MICNs). County subcontracts with Community Health Centers of the Central Coast : County funds to support primary medical care for County residents who have MediCal or Medicare, CMSP, or who are uninsured.
HEALTH PROMOTION The Health Promotion Division works within the community to promote healthy behaviors. Along with a focus on individual change in behavior, we encourage the adoption of community wide improvements that benefit public health. Our programs include: Tobacco Control Program - Offers free cessation classes and free nicotine replacement therapies to the community. We also work with local jurisdictions on policies to restrict the use of tobacco. Obesity Prevention Program - Works with community partners in the HEAL-SLO collaborative to reduce the rate of childhood obesity. We also offer workshops on certain nutrition topics. Women Infants and Children (WIC) - Is a national program which offers nutrition education and food vouchers to low-income women and their children - from pregnancy to the age of 5. Oral Health Program - Offers preventative oral care to the residents, with a focus on children 0-5 years of age. HIV/AIDS Program - The HIV/AIDS Program works to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS in the County and to provide care and support services to those affected by the disease. Injury Prevention Program - The injury prevention program is in the planning stages and will most likely launch in August of 2012. Other programs may be offered, based on funding availability. Go to the Health Promotion Webpage
PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY Provides high quality and timely testing services for communicable disease diagnosis, water quality and animal diseases including Rabies. Go to the Public Health Laboratory Webpage
SAN LUIS OBISPO HEALTH COMMISSION The Health Commission was formed in 1994 to serve as an advisory board to the County Board of Supervisors and the County Public Health Agency on matters of health care in the County. The Commission meets monthly in a public venue and is a cooperative effort among consumers, and indirect and direct providers of health care services. The Commission consists of 11 volunteer appointees who are residents of San Luis Obispo County, of which 6 are consumer representatives, 3 are direct providers (e.g., physicians, nurses and dentists), and 2 are indirect providers (e.g., medical office managers and hospital administrators). Go to the San Luis Obispo Health Commission