Board of health gets Blue Zone Project presentation

MORGANTOWN — Mobile Dentistry, Blue Zones  and hepatitis  were among the many topics covered Thursday morning during the Monongalia County Board of Health’s regular bi-monthly meeting.
Also on the agenda was the selection of board leadership, which will remain unchanged. The body voted to  keep Sam Chico III (chair), Donna Tennant (vice chair) and Toni DiChiacchio (treasurer) in their respective roles.
Erika Graves, in town as part  of the Blue Zones Project, offered some information on the for-profit health and wellness initiative currently undertaking a three-month assessment of WVU and the greater Morgantown area.
WVU footed the $250,000 cost for the initial assessment process, which will determine a number of factors, including whether the community is ready to invest the substantial time and resources it will take to become the first joint city/university to receive the Blue Zone distinction.
Graves said that the entire process would be a “multi-million dollar project” over the course of three to five years should it move forward.
She said the costs are typically covered by private donors including insurance companies, health systems and major employers in the community.
The Blue Zones Project stemmed from a 15-year old research effort to identify the world’s healthiest and longest lived populations. Five original Blue Zones were identified: Ikaria, Greece; Loma Linda, Calif.; Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan and Nicoya, Costa Rica.
In the years since, 45 communities have achieved the Blue Zone designation.
The project touts itself as the first “evidence-based, science-backed” initiative to get consistent, measurable results in improving community health and reducing health care spending.
In other health department news, County Health Officer Dr. Lee Smith said there are 1,310 confirmed cases of Hepatitis A in West Virginia and two in Monongalia County.
West Virginia has been battling an outbreak of Hepatitis A that began in San Diego and recently landed in the Charleston-Huntington area.
Smith said the health department has vaccinated local law enforcement and other first responders.
A number of counties pooled many of their available doses in order to vaccinate the 850 inmates at the North Central Regional Jail after two inmates there were diagnosed with the disease.
Smith said Monongalia County provided 500 doses, which the state plans to replace.
He said the outbreak is a public health issue that comes with a tremendous cost as many times the disease is spread through IV drug use and goes untreated until the sufferer is hospitalized. He said roughly 30 percent of Hepatitis A sufferers are coinfected with Hepatitis C, also largely a result of IV drug use.
“Unfortunately West Virginia leads the nation in Hepatitis C. We lead the nation in Hepatitis B and we’re hot on the trail for Hepatitis A,” Smith said.
In more positive news, Dan Carrier, director of Monongalia County Health Department Dentistry, said Smile Express, the department’s mobile dental clinic recently made its first trip, during which it spent seven days visiting schools in Braxton County.
He said the roaming clinic will begin a 12-day tour of Monongalia County’s schools on Monday, followed by trips to Harrison and Lewis counties.
The mobile unit is built from a 2005 Winnebago and made possible through a $170,000 grant from Delta Dental as well as support from the county commission and Cheat Lake Rotary.
The unit is staffed by Dr. Mike Wiener, hygienist Tiffany Summerlin and assistant Velvet Urgo.