Florida Health Monroe County

BY MAGGIE OLIVE KLEIN
KONKLIFE STAFF WRITER AND EDITOR 

With a motto stating “To protect and promote the health of all people through integrated state, county, and community efforts”, the Florida Department of Health goes above and beyond in so many different ways, that a lot of people might not know about. The department has locations in Key West, at 1100 Simonton in the GATO Building, Marathon, at 3333 Overseas Highway, and Tavernier, at 50 Highpoint Road. (If you haven’t seen the Gato Building and all of the history inside it, we strongly recommend you check it out!) The department is responsible for the county’s 82,000 residents, and 5.1 million annual visitors. 

So, what exactly do they offer? Well, they offer a bunch of services for the community, including: Infectious Disease Services, think HIV/AIDS, STD, Tuberculosis, Rabies, and others.

Clinical and Nutrition Services, such as School Health, Family Planning, Women’s Health, and more.

Environmental Health Services, like Food Hygiene, Tattoo and Body Piercing, Public Swimming Pool Inspections, Water Quality at our Beaches, Mobile Home Parks Status, etc.

Emergency Preparedness and Response, including Leadership of Emergency Support, Hazard Planning, Hurricane Preparedness, and others.

Community Health & Wellness Planning, think Community Health Assessments, Drowning Prevention, Bike Safety, and more.

Now, as you can imagine, these services are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what the amazing people involved in Public Health are able to provide for us. There are five Division Directors: Health Officer & Administrator Robert Eadie, JD, Deputy Administrator Mary Vanden Brook, JD, Medical Director Dr. Mark Whiteside, MD, Director of Nursing, Dr. Carla Fry, PhD, MSN, RN, and Alison Kerr MPH, Director of Community Health. The Florida Department of Health strives to be the healthiest state in the nation, by providing the most exceptional care, and with that comes public awareness. We have teamed up with the Monroe County Health Department to post articles regarding various health concerns that are educational and important for all of the community to be informed about. As they say on their website, monroe.floridahealth.gov, “Collaboration: We use teamwork to achieve common goals & solve problems.” 

Many people have been placing their COVID-19 health risk on a pedestal, which is completely understandable regarding what the world has been going through because of it. (Speaking of, they also provide free N95 masks and testing kits) But The Florida Department of Health is capable of spreading information and helping patients with a plethora of other needs, ones that many people might not even consider to be a health issue. In order to learn more about their services, you can call at (305) 293-7500, email at [email protected], or visit their website, Monroe.floridahealth.gov.  

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