Axe elected to board of health

At a recent Health District Advisory meeting, former Health Department employee Charlotte Axe was elected to the board to replace Dorothy Silver, who is stepping down from the board of health. Silver’s term expires March 31, 2023.

Axe worked for the Auglaize Health Department for 23 years. She

retired in 2018 and worked as a registered nurse and director of the Help Me Grow program.

Axe is from St. Marys as was Dorothy Silver.

County Health Director Oliver Fisher said he wanted to keep the geographical representation on the board.

Board member Dan Harpster was also reappointed.

“I appreciate the opportunity to serve in this capacity. Over the years I think we try to make a difference,” Harpster said.

Moultion Township Financial officer-Larry Johns said he appreciated Harpster’s dedication to the cause.

Fisher reviewed the department’s annual report that was released this month that showed the health department was mostly focused on the pandemic with quarantining and contact tracing. He said they were able to recoup staff hours spent on contact tracing.

He said there were also several state public health orders they had to react to.

“It was a learning year, and a very trying year with all the efforts and hours that went into it,” Fisher said.

Nursing Supervisor Brenda Eiting said they would hopefully be seeing an end to the pandemic.

“We’re doing our part as far as the vaccine rollout,” she said, noting additional providers are offering the vaccine.

The health department has been provided 2,619 vaccines and vaccinated 1,859 people, sharing some of those vaccine doses with Mercy Health at the Wapakoneta location, Joint Township District Memorial Hospital and Lima Memorial’s Wapakoneta location.

According to the state dashboard, as of Monday, 5,859 Auglaize County residents have received all of their doses of the vaccine.

Eiting said they are keeping track of people who have received the vaccine and still caught the virus.

Environmental Health Director Curt Anderson said in the first three months of the pandemic last year they received 600 phone calls.

“Every time the governor had a press conference we were lit up with phone calls,” Anderson said, noting topics ranged from essential business status to sanitation and mask compliance from employees and employers.

Anderson said they also heard frequent complaints about campgrounds not being open.

“We didn’t have any authority, we didn’t have any power, we were just trying to interpret and enforce the director of health’s and the governors order,” Anderson said.