May 2, 2023
The Adair County Health Department is offering services to the community designed to increase the safety of infants and children. New measures include distribution of child safety seats, cribs, and adult bloodstream carbon monoxide monitoring services.
The Health Department, located at 1001 South Jamison Street in Kirksville, is a child safety seat inspection station. Residents can have staff inspect children’s car seats and educate them about proper installation and use. Moreover, the Health Department will provide one free safety seat to qualifying Adair County households.
The Health Department’s Safe Cribs Program provides education about child sleep safety and how to properly set up children’s cribs. Free cribs are available to qualifying women who are at least 34 weeks pregnant or have delivered a child within the past six months. Eligibility is need-based. Recipients of free cribs must be WIC recipients, have Medicaid (MO HealthNet) insurance coverage, or have an income of at or below 185% of the federal poverty level. Those who apply for a free crib must agree to a home visit, as well as crib use and set-up, and safe sleep education.
The Health Department has also purchased a handheld device, similar to a breathalyzer, that tracks carbon monoxide levels in the blood. In pregnant women, the device will measure lung function of the mother as well as the fetus.
The carbon monoxide monitoring device will make it easier for residents to find out how smoking is affecting their lung health. This biomarker feedback can assist them in their own smoking cessation efforts if they are attempting to stop using nicotine. The Health Department can also make referrals to the Missouri Tobacco Quit Line, coordinated by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The program offers smokers a free “quit kit,” as well as free nicotine gum and patches to qualified individuals while supplies last.
For information about any of these services, call the Adair County Health Department at 660-665-8491.
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