About the Bay County Health Department
Health Defined by the World Health Organization:
"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being of the individual and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
The Bay County Health Department (also known as the Bay County Public Health Unit for brief periods) dates back to the late 1930's when a group of citizens saw a growing need for a county health unit in Panama City. On January 9, 1939 the Florida State Board of Health approved the appointment of W. H. Ball, M.D. to the post of health officer for Bay County. His staff consisted of one sanitarian, two nurses and one secretary. The main focus of the new health unit was sanitary regulations and communicable disease. The health unit was funded by revenue generated from the City (Race Track Funds) and County, and is currently funded by the County and State. The following are facility location changes necessary for growth over the past 62 years:
- 1939 The first facility that housed the Bay CHD was the County Court House - Third floor
- 1940 Move - Harrison Avenue adjacent to Lisenby Hospital
Move - west side of the Bay County Court House on McKenzie Avenue - 1945 Move - 624 East Coastal Highway (Business 98)
- 1975 Move - 605 N. MacArthur Avenue on the south side of Bay Memorial Hospital
- 1980 Opened a satellite clinic at 408 School Avenue in Springfield. The WIC (Women, Infants, Children) program had grown large enough to warrant a separate facility and was moved to 524 N. MacArthur Avenue
- 1983 WIC moved to 717 E. 7th Street
- 1987 Opened a satellite clinic at 17109 Hutchinson Road in Panama City Beach
- 1988 Opened a Primary Care Clinic at 505 W. 11th Street and Center for Women - 110 E. 5th Street
- 1989 Consolidated services of the Center for Women at 110 E. 5th Street to 505 W. 11th Street
- 1993 Opened the Administrative Annex at 619 N. Cove Boulevard
- 1995 Consolidated services from the Springfield Clinic at 408 School Avenue to 505 W. 11th Street
- 1996 Consolidated services from 505 W. 11th Steet and 605 N. MacArthur Avenue to the new larger facility at 597 W. 11th Street
- 2001 Consolidated services from the Beach Satellite at 17109 Hutchinson Road, Panama City Beach to 597 W. 11th Street
We now have two separate divisions dedicated to sanitary regulations (Environmental Health) and communicable disease (Epidemiology). Public health services have expanded to include: Immunizations, HIV/AIDS, Family Planning, Child Health, Adult Heath, Healthy Start, WIC (Women, Infant, Children) Food Supplement Program, School Health, Tobacco Free Partnership, Community Services, Sexually Transmitted Disease, etc. The number of employees has increased from 5 in 1939 to 170 in 2010 to meet the growing needs of the increasing number of citizens residing in Bay County.
The organization has also experienced tremendous change in the infrastructure of the public health system in the latter years. The most significant change was the separation of health from the Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) system in 1996, which invoked the birth of the Department of Health. This separation has had a positive effect on public health by forcing legislators to address health as a separate entity. New legislative funding for intervention programs to address critical health issues facing our area has thrust public health into the 21st century. Considering the extensive effects of public health and the rising concerns for increased health issues we expect the demands on our unit to increase at warp speed.
There are but a few things in life you can be certain of, and one is that public health affects us all!