Monday, January 27, 2014
The first meeting of the Russell County Board of Health was held on December 3, 1951. The health department was opened in the basement of the Russell County Courthouse on the square in Jamestown, Kentucky with three employees, a public health nurse, a sanitarian and a clerk/typist.
The following year, the Board of Health voted to adopt regulations on controlling pollution of Lake Cumberland. It was also voted that all food handlers in the county should have an examination consisting of a TB chest x-ray, syphilitic serum test and a physical examination.
In October, 1955, the Board voted to set normal business hours for the Russell County Health Department as follows: Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to noon.
In April, 1959, the board discussed an immunization program directed toward the indigent population of Russell County that had not attended the immunization clinics provided at the Health Department. It was recommended that the public health nurse provide home visits to the indigent population to provide required immunizations.
In December, 1959, Well Child Clinics were added to the services of the Russell County Health Department. The clinics were to take place monthly, on the first Thursday, during the hours of 1:00 p.m. through 4:00 p.m. The members of the medical society would alternate offering services in the clinic.
In November, 1960, the fluoridation of the proposed water supply for the Russell County Water District was discussed and was added to the newly established water district in March of 1961.
On November 21, 1961, the Russell County Public Health Taxing District was established by ballot, passing 1173 to 660.
In April, 1962, a resolution setting the tax rate of .08 cents per $100 assessed valuation was drawn up and presented to the fiscal court.
In October, 1962, an allotment of polio vaccine was issued to the Russell County Health Department. The Board agreed that administration of the vaccine would be given at the four elementary schools in the county starting with the first grade and working up the grade levels until it ran out.
In May, 1966, the Board voted that the Russell County Health Department would provide services through the Family Planning Program to include medical history, physical examination, laboratory tests, educational material, counseling and prescribed birth control methods to best suit the patient’s needs.
In December, 1962, an “Individual Lot and Water Service Regulation” was adopted by the Russell County Health Board to tie in with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements due to the increasing number of sewage systems malfunctioning under what was their current Subdivision Regulations.
In July, 1976, due to a fire in the Russell County Courthouse, it was recommended that the Board explore the possibility of the construction of a new health department to make the space, which it then occupied, available for other county officials.
In March of 1978, The Russell County Health Department applied to participate in the Women, Infant, Children (WIC) Program through the Office of Community Health Services.
In January, 1979, the Health Department took over the complete management of the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program for Russell County.
The new building dedication for the Russell County Health Department was held on August 11, 1979.
On July 1, 1982, a resolution executed by the Russell County Fiscal Court affiliated the Russell County Health Department with the Lake Cumberland District Health Department.
In March, 2009, plans for the construction of a new health department were presented to the Board of Health.
In July, 2011, the county moved into its current location on Fruit of the Loom Drive in Jamestown, Kentucky.
