Health department ready for flu season, offers series of clinics

Flu season looms, but the Saline County Health Department is ready to help county residents protect themselves.

Department Administrator Gayle Thomas said at the Board of Trustees meeting Monday, Oct. 13, that vaccines have been available and have been administered since the beginning of October.

The first clinic was held during a recent Medical Reserve Corp meeting and a series of clinics has been planned.

--Wednesday, Oct. 15, Golden Oaks;

--Friday, Oct. 17, Blosser Home;

--Monday, Oct. 20, countywide clinic at Patricia's Foods parking lot;

--Tuesday, Oct. 21, Westport Estates Assisted Living and The Arbors;

--Thursday, Oct. 23, Marshall Senior Center and MFA Research Center;

--Monday, Oct. 27, city of Slater and Marshall Municipal Utilities;

--Tuesday, Oct. 28, Missouri Valley Community Action Agency;

--Thursday, Oct. 30, Wood & Huston Bank;

--Tuesday, Nov. 4, Vote & Vac, clinics at all 19 polling places in the county;

--Friday, Nov. 7, Sheltered Workshop;

--Thursday, Nov. 13, Monsanto.

In other business, the board reviewed the department's statistics for September.

Total contacts increased from September 2007 -- 6,347 versus 5,681 a year earlier.

Special Health Care Needs program contacts accounted for the increase, with 3,723 in September 2008. There were 3,000 contacts in the same program last September.