Johnson County Department of Health and Environment will be hosting a Household Hazardous Waste Event on Saturday, August 12th from 8-11:30am at the Johnson County Household Hazardous Waste facility. This event is by appointment only, and appointments can be made through our online scheduler. Accepted items include: paints and stains, household cleaners, car products including oil and gasoline, fluorescent and CFL light bulbs, yard chemicals, and much more. For a complete list of accepted items
The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment has confirmed 31 cases of mumps in adults living in Johnson County, Kan. Given the number of reported cases in Kansas and in nearby states, it is important that Kansans are up-to-date on their MMR vaccination (measles-mumps-rubella). Getting the vaccine will reduce the chance of getting the disease or reduce the severity of the illness.
Mumps is a contagious disease caused by a virus. It’s best known for puffy cheeks and a swollen jaw from swollen salivary glands. An infected person can spread the virus by:
Symptoms usually last 7 to 10 days. Some people who get mumps do not have symptoms. Others may feel sick, but will not have swollen glands. If you or someone in your family has mumps symptoms, stay home and away from others and contact your healthcare provider.
KDHE recommends that a buccal swab specimen, a blood specimen and a respiratory viral panel (NP swab) be collected from all patients with clinical features compatible with mumps. Healthcare providers who suspect mumps in a patient or have received laboratory confirmation that a patient has mumps should call JCDHE’s disease investigation team at 913-826-1303 within 4 hours. Fax completed disease reports to 913-826-1300. After business hours and weekends, call the Kansas Department of Health and Environment at 1-877-427-7317. A quick reference guide for providers is now available.
The best way to prevent mumps is to get the MMR vaccine. We offer the MMR vaccine at our walk-in clinics in Olathe (11875 S. Sunset Dr.) and Mission (6000 Lamar Ave.). No appointment is needed.
In collaboration with Johnson County Wastewater, the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment has lifted a health advisory for residents living in the area between 55th and Mission and 75th and Mission. The advisory was issued Saturday, May 13 due to a sanitary sewer overflow into Brush Creek in the areas of Prairie Village and Mission Hills.
Johnson County Wastewater crews investigated the source and determined a private contractor unknowingly drilled into a sewer line in the area near Tomahawk Road and Mission Road. The damaged line has been repaired. The Wastewater Department flushed the creek in the area and tested the water. Bacteria levels have returned to normal allowing the advisory to be lifted today.
If you have questions about the advisory being lifted, please call 913-477-8436.
Coughing. Fever. Runny nose. Upset stomach. Diarrhea. You probably know someone with these symptoms right now. This is the time of year when reports of influenza, norovirus and other viral and foodborne illnesses begin to pour into the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment. The best way to prevent these germs from making their way to you is frequent handwashing. Wash hands with soap and water after using the bathroom, changing a diaper and always before eating, preparing or handling food. Alcohol-based sanitizers should be used if soap and water are not available.
If you haven’t gotten a flu shot, it’s not too late. Influenza typically peaks in late January through February. The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment offers flu shots at its Olathe and Mission walk-in health clinics. No appointment is needed. Flu vaccines are also available in many locations, including doctor's offices, clinics, pharmacies, grocery stores and college health centers.
If you are the one who is sick, limit your contact with others as much as possible. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and throw tissues in the trash after you use them. Stay home from work or school until you are fever-free for 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medication, like ibuprofen and acetaminophen.
If you have a respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus, ask your doctor about antiviral drugs. Antiviral drugs can make illness milder and shorten the time you are sick. They also can prevent serious flu complications, like pneumonia.
If you’re infected with a gastrointestinal illness, wait at least 48 hours after symptoms stop before returning to work or school. Clean and disinfect all surfaces and laundry that have been contaminated with vomit or stool.
Following these simple steps will help prevent the spread of these highly contagious germs around our community and keep you healthy this winter.
The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment will no longer accept outside laboratory specimens and packages for shipment to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s laboratory. Outside laboratories and providers should ship specimens and packages directly to the Kansas Health and Environmental Laboratories (KHEL) via courier or delivery service. Packaging and shipping instructions can be found here.
Specimens and packages requested by JCDHE will continue to be shipped to KHEL by JCDHE.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is alerting the public of the potential to contract Zika virus while traveling abroad and in Brownsville, Texas and South Florida. Although sexual transmission of Zika virus infection is possible, mosquito bites remain the primary way that Zika virus is transmitted. Because there currently is no vaccine or treatment for Zika virus, the best way to avoid Zika virus infection is to prevent mosquito bites. While illness is usually mild, and severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon, Zika virus infection in pregnant women can cause severe birth defects of the brain, including microcephaly. Pregnant women should not travel to areas with Zika virus.
The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red, watery eyes) lasting from several days to a week. If you are experiencing Zika virus symptoms and have traveled to/lived in an area with Zika within the past 2 weeks, contact your healthcare provider immediately so you can be tested for Zika virus. Tell your healthcare provider when and where you traveled.
Kansas physicians and laboratories should be aware of the diagnostic testing guidance for Zika virus. Additional guidance for healthcare providers is available here. Call the Kansas Department of Health and Environment at 1-877-427-7317 to report persons with suspected Zika virus infection or to request Zika virus testing. Zika virus testing is now available at the state laboratory and commercial laboratories.
Zika Virus in Pregnancy
Zika virus infection can cause microcephaly (meaning small head and brain) and other severe brain defects in babies of mothers who are infected with Zika virus while pregnant. This means that a woman who is infected with Zika during pregnancy has an increased risk of having a baby with these health problems. Therefore, pregnant women should not travel to areas with Zika virus.
Men and women with a pregnant sex partner who have traveled to or lived in an area of active Zika virus transmission should consistently and correctly use condoms and other barriers during sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) or abstain from sexual activity for the duration of the pregnancy to avoid giving the virus to the mother and baby.
If you are pregnant and had exposure to Zika virus in the last 2-12 weeks either from travel to a place with ongoing Zika virus transmission or unprotected sex with someone who has traveled to or lived in a place with ongoing Zika virus transmission, contact your healthcare provider immediately so you can be tested for Zika virus. Tell your healthcare provider when and where you and/or your sex partner traveled/lived.
Prevention
There is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat Zika. Until more is known, CDC is recommending when traveling to places where Zika virus has been reported, travelers should take steps to prevent mosquito bites. All travelers, including pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding, can and should use an EPA-registered insect repellent and use it according to the product label.
Some travelers to areas with ongoing Zika virus transmission will become infected while traveling but will not become sick until they return home and they might not have any symptoms. Travelers should use insect repellent for three weeks after travel to prevent mosquito bites and stop the spread of Zika.
Zika virus can be spread sexually. Men and women with a pregnant sex partner who reside in or have traveled to an area of active Zika virus transmission should consistently and correctly use condoms and other barriers during sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) or abstain from sexual activity for the duration of the pregnancy to avoid giving the virus to the mother and baby. Men and women with nonpregnant sex partners may want to consider the following recommendations from the CDC. Women and their partners who are thinking about pregnancy, should talk to their healthcare providers about their travel plans, the risk of Zika virus infection and strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites.
Local residents can protect themselves from Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases (West Nile, Chikungunya, Dengue) by wearing an EPA-registered insect repellent, long-sleeved shirts and long pants when working or playing outdoors. Install or repair screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes outside. Use air conditioning, if you have it. Empty standing water from flower pots, buckets, gutters/downspouts, small pools and pool covers, pet dishes, discarded tires and birdbaths on a regular basis to reduce the number of mosquitoes around the home. Tightly cover water storage containers so that mosquitoes cannot get inside to lay eggs.
Under the 2004 Johnson County Environmental Sanitary Code , the Department of Health and Environment (JCDHE) is responsible for regulating private sewage treatment systems, swimming pools and spas in the unincorporated area and within the ten municipalities that have adopted the Code.
The Code establishes the authority to assess various user fees to cover program administration and enforcement costs and to increase fees over time as needed. View the 2017 Fee increase.
Flu shots are now available for adults and children over the age of 6 months at our walk-in clinics in Olathe and Mission. The cost is $30 for a seasonal flu shot and $50 for the high dose flu shot for those age 65 and older. The nasal spray vaccine will not be offered this year as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that it is not as effective as the standard flu shot. The recommendations for people with egg allergies have been updated too. Read more about these changes here.
We accept private insurance from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, Cigna, Coventry, UnitedHealthcare and Medicare Part B. We do not take insurance from Coventry Advantra or Humana Gold Plus. We are a KanCare provider for all managed care organizations such as Amerigroup, Sunflower and United Community. Cash, check or credit card payment is also accepted for those without insurance or who carry other insurance plans. Click here for immunization clinic hours and locations. If you have additional questions, call 913-826-1261.
Johnson County Governemnt encourages employees to innovate and improve processes through a program called "Project Impact" which recognizes employees who bring their ideas for improvement forward and seem them through implementation. During a recent Board of County Commissioners meeting, three employees from the Department of Health and Environment were presented a Certificate of Recognition from Chairman Eilert. Julie Davis, Kalenna Coleman, and Nolan Kappleman were all recognized for their innovate approach to recycling paint at the Johnson County Household Hazardous Waste Facility. Click here to watch a video that explains how Nolan, Kalenna, and Julie took a program that originally cost the county money to one that now generates revenue.
LIVEWELL Johnson County, an initiative of the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment, is collaborating with community partners Hy-Vee and Balls Foods to offer healthy cooking classes and a Pharmer's Market. For more details:
Gestational Diabetes, Heart Healthy and Family Friendly Cooking Classes schedule (Olathe)
Gestation Diabetes Cooking Classes schedule (Mission)
111 S Cherry St, Olathe, KS 66061 | 913-715-5000 | TDD: 800-766-3777
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