The Health Department’s Animal Care and Control program offers low-cost pet vaccination clinics throughout the spring, summer and fall. The last clinic of 2016 will be on Saturday, October 1, from 9 a.m. to noon. It will be located at Beach Park Public Works, 40185 Glendale in Beach Park. The clinic offers an affordable way to update pets on their vaccinations and rabies tags. Visit the Animal Care and Control webpage for more information on costs and services.

Lake County law enforcement officers have now saved more than one hundred people using naloxone since their first save on Christmas Day of 2014. Officers throughout Lake County administer naloxone when they respond to calls of a suspected opioid overdose. In cooperation with the Lake County Opioid Initiative, the Health Department secured the original donations of naloxone and provided training to the officers who in turn trained their peers.

The Health Department is looking for abandoned wells. An abandoned well is a well that no longer is used to supply water, is in such a state of disrepair that the well creates the potential for transmitting contaminants into an aquifer, or otherwise threatens the public’s health or safety.

The most obvious evidence of an abandoned well is a metal or plastic pipe sticking out of the ground. A metal manhole cover and/or a concrete slab may also indicate there is a pit with an abandoned well inside. Each year many wells are abandoned when they are replaced with new wells or when homes are connected to community water systems. These wells, if no longer used, must be sealed. If you are aware of an abandoned well, please call: (847) 377-8020. For more information, review the Health Department's Abandoned Water Well brochure.

The Lake County Jail and Health Department recently launched a Vivitrol Pre-Release Pilot Program for qualifying inmates in the Lake County Jail. The initiative is part of the Health Department’s newly expanded Medication-Assisted Treatment program, which recently received a grant of $325,000 from the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Inmates who are opioid or alcohol addicted now have another treatment option available to them.  Those who voluntarily express an interest in the Vivitrol program will undergo an assessment and education process to determine if they are appropriate for the program. Those eligible will begin receiving addiction treatment services through the Health Department in the jail and after they are released. Armor, the medical provider for the jail, will administer an injection of Vivitrol prior to the participating inmate’s release. The Health Department has committed to treating 15 inmates over the next six months.

Vivitrol (naltrexone) is a non-addictive drug that helps to reduce cravings for alcohol and opioids. It was approved by the FDA in 2006 for the treatment of alcoholism and for the treatment of opioid addiction in 2010.  It works by blocking opioid receptors in the brain, reducing the pleasurable effects of alcohol and opioid drugs.

Although the days are getting cooler, there is still a risk of contracting West Nile virus. The disease can be transmitted by mosquitoes and is again present this year in Lake County.  Hear from Mike Adam, senior biologist at the Lake County Health Department, as he provides tips on how to protect yourself from mosquitoes and an update on the presence of the Zika virus.  Watch Video