TOP PHOTO: Charles Turner, county director for Anderson and Campbell County Health Departments, and Kelly Ballard, Public Health Educator spoke at Tuesday’s South Campbell County Rotary Club luncheon.

By Charlotte Underwood 

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – South Campbell County Rotarians heard from two speakers from the Campbell County Department of Health at Tuesday’s luncheon.

Charles Turner, county director for Anderson and Campbell County Health Departments, and Kelly Ballard, public health educator spoke about programs and services offered by the health department. 

Ballard spoke about some of the many programs the department offers to citizens of all ages; classes such as tobacco and nicotine and alcohol education to students and adults. She also does presentations in area schools on the dangers of smoking and nicotine, along with smoking cessation programs to adults and youth alike. 

Kelly Ballard, Public Health Educator spoke about programs and services offered by the Health Department. 

Another program is the TNSTRONG Youth Council.  The purpose of youth groups is to educate fellow students about dangers of tobacco use.

The health department also offers senior citizen classes such as managing diabetes, as well as exercise and balance to prevent falls.

Ballard is available to do assemblies and group presentations at area schools or really for any group or organization in the county. 

She said she is available to present on any health topic if given notice. Common topics include Health Smart, Movement as Medicine, Life Skills for middle school and high school students, matter of balance, which she co-teaches with UT Extension for senior citizens.

“We’re also part of the Campbell County Health Council with the goal to make the community overall a better place,” 

“Campbell Gets Fit” is another sub committee of the health council. “They do a lot of Reverse Your Diabetes classes, a yearly health fair in Jellico, among others events and programs,” Ballard said.

Campbell County Health Department Director Charles Turner spoke about some of the Health Department Services such as immunizations, Well Child Screenings, Dental Services, the WIC program, the Supplemental Food program and many others.

According to Turner, the WIC program and the Supplemental Food program are by far the largest impacting program in the county.

Charles Turner, County Director for Anderson and Campbell County Health Departments, spoke about programs and services offered by the Health Department. 

In April, 1,083 individuals in Campbell County benefitted from the WIC program; this was a four percent increase over the month of March.

In April, there were 11,390 transactions on the Supplemental Food program, totalling $90,000 in food purchases benefitting Campbell County citizens. 

He spoke about other programs as well such as recent changes to the dental program. “We do have a dentist at the Health Department, and our focus has recently changed to provide for uninsured children and uninsured adults,” Turner said. 

Other programs include Women’s Health Services and Family Planning Services, which  provide annual checks for women, birth control for women and pregnancy care. Some breast and cervical screenings for women are also provided.

They also do STD screening and treatment, Prenatal Tobacco Free Programs and Birth and Death Certificates. 

The Health department even does Health inspections, tattoo parlor inspections and more.

“We do so much more than just immunizations,” Turner said.

He said he was glad that things were “mostly back to normal” after the Covid situation, which had a huge impact on the health department.

“I have been in public health for over 30 years and have never seen anything so unprecedented as Covid was,” Turner said.

He also complimented the health department staff, both during Covid and on a regular day to day basis. 

“I can’t say enough about the staff at the Campbell County Health Department. We have a lot of exciting programs. We are always looking for outreach opportunities to share our services, we want to share our resources. Our purpose is to be a help to those who need it,” Turner said.

The Campbell County Health Department is located at 162 Sharp-Perkins Road in Jacksboro.  For more information, call 423.562.8351. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 05/17/2023-6AM)