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You may be like many people and have heard about folic acid, but question what it has to do with you. Folic acid is a B vitamin that helps your body make new cells, such as blood cells, brain cells, skin, hair, and nails.

During the week of September 8-14, the Virginia Department of Health and other agencies are observing National Folic Acid Awareness Month. The week is designed to bring attention to the importance of folic acid in your diet, particularly for women who are pregnant or may become pregnant. If taken before and during pregnancy, folic acid can help prevent serious birth defects of the spine and brain.

Folic acid can be taken in pill form, or you can find it in some fruit, vegetables and meats.

• Dark leafy vegetables like spinach or kale
• Beans such as lentils and black beans
• Asparagus, okra, avocados
• Fruit like oranges, strawberries, melons and bananas
• Chicken and beef liver

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of folic acid, visit the Virginia Department of Health. For information about birth defects, contact Christen Crews, Birth Defects Surveillance Coordinator.

In 2021, more than 1,200 Virginians died due to suicide. During National Suicide Prevention Month, communities come together to give voice to the people impacted.

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) provides information to help those experiencing thoughts of suicide. VDH also offers trainings for people who want to help.

The VDH Suicide Prevention Program prioritizes seven strategies in addressing suicide prevention:

• Strengthen Economic Supports
• Create Protective Environments
• Improve Access and Delivery of Suicide Care
• Promote Healthy Connections
• Teach Coping and Problem-Solving Skills
• Identify and Support People at Risk
• Lessen Harms and Prevent Future Risk

The VDH Suicide Prevention Program accomplishes these priorities through partnerships. VDH and the groups below provide support and resources.

• The Campus Suicide Prevention Center of Virginia
• The Virginia Zero Suicide Technical Assistance Hub
• The Suicide Prevention Interagency Advisory Group
• Full Circle Grief Center
• Health Brigade

VDH also supports training for psychologists, therapists, and case workers who work with individuals experiencing thoughts of suicide. The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) provides the free training. For more information contact the Injury and Violence Prevention Program.

During September, National Suicide Prevention Week is also observed September 8th though the 14th. World Suicide Prevention Day takes place on September 10th. To learn more about VDH suicide prevention efforts visit. Suicide Prevention Interagency Advisory Group (SPIAG).

The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program has been a beacon of support for women and children since the first clinic opened in 1974. For 50 years, WIC has worked to improve the health of women, infants, and children. In Virginia, the program currently serves 107,325 participants.

WIC focuses on providing pregnant women and children:

• Nutritional food
• Breastfeeding promotional support
• Education on healthy eating
• Screening and referrals to healthcare and social services

WIC works with more than 820 vendors who provide healthy, nutritious food. Staff across Virginia are dedicated to improving the health of women and children.

VDH celebrates WIC’s 50 years of service! Let’s honor those who help provide nutritional options to low-income families.

Learn more about the WIC program and how it can serve you at https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/wic/.

Pictured left to right: Betsy Looney (VASN President), Na-Keisha White (VDOE School Health Coordinator), Joanna Pitts (VDH School Health Nurse Consultant), Tammy Miller (School Nurse Coordinator, Westmoreland County Public Schools), Angela Knupp (Student Health Services Specialist, Harrisonburg City Public Schools), Lisa Coons (VDOE Superintendent), Shea Pugh (School Nurse, Isle of Wight County Public Schools), Tonishia Short (VDH School Health Special Projects Manager), Jillian Waller (Virginia Tech Program Coordinator), and Joseph Wharff (Director, VDOE Office of Behavioral Health and Wellness).

Each morning, Shea, a veteran school nurse, greets her ninth through twelfth-grade students. She listens to them share stories about their plans, activities, and recent accomplishments. The Isle of Wight County Public Schools nurse is known for inspiring her students. When Shea is not listening to her students’ stories, she is providing school health services, such as emergency first aid and daily medications.

Recently, Shea said she has been providing mental health support. The 15-year veteran says there has been an increase in students visiting her clinic with symptoms of anxiety. “When a student comes in holding their chest, hyperventilating, and saying their chest hurts, it is easy to start down the road of assessing cardiac issues,” said the nurse. “But what if there is more to assess?”

Shea partnered with experts from the Virginia Department of Health, Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (VA-AAP), the REACH Institute, registered school nurses, and the Virginia Department of Education, to develop a Mental Health Toolkit. The toolkit equips nurses with strategies to support students with social, emotional, and mental health needs.

During the annual Summer Institute for School Nursing (SISN) Conference, the Virginia Department of Health collaborated with the Virginia Department of Education, VA-AAP, and the REACH Institute to train 242 registered school nurses to use the newly created Mental Health Toolkit. The comprehensive resource is a unique tool for nurses. It will be added to school clinics during the 2024-2025 school year.

Shea has confidence that the Mental Health Toolkit will provide school nurses across the Commonwealth with the foundation they need to administer mental health first aid. Shea says it is a helpful and reliable tool.

September is National Preparedness Month, a time to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. As evidenced by the most recent Tropical Storm Debby that came through Virginia and the CrowdStrike outage, it’s imperative to be ready with a preparedness plan before the next emergency hits, whether its natural or manmade.

When creating your emergency plan, remember these important tips from Ready.gov:

• Build A Kit – During and after an emergency, you may need to survive on your own for several days. Being prepared means having your own food, water and other supplies to last for several days. A disaster supplies kit is a collection of basic items your household may need in the event of an emergency including your pets.
  Make sure your emergency kit is stocked with the items on the emergency supply checklist. Once you take a look at the basic items consider what unique needs your family might have

• Make a Plan – Your family may not be together if a disaster strikes, so it is important to know which types of disasters could affect your area. Know how you’ll contact one another and reconnect if separated. Establish a family meeting place that’s familiar and easy to find.
  • Prepare Your Pets for Disasters – Your pets are an important member of your family, so they need to be included in your family’s emergency plan.
  • Determine any special assistance you may need and include plans for that assistance in your emergency plan. If you undergo routine treatments administered by a clinic or hospital, find out their emergency plans and work with them to identify back-up service providers.

Business leaders and employees can do a lot to prepare for the most likely hazards they will face in the workplace. Ready Business helps you to create a preparedness plan to get ready for what comes next. 

• Create a Business Continuity Plan to manage business disruption during an emergency. The goal of a Continuity of Operations plan is to reduce loss of life, minimize damage, protect essential assets, maintain a succession in leadership, reduce the disruption of key operations and achieve a timely recovery.
  Learn more about how to put together and test a business continuity plan with the following Business Continuity Plan Supporting Ready.gov Resources:
  • Business Continuity Plan Situation Manual
  • Business Continuity Plan Test Exercise Planner Instructions
  • Business Continuity Plan Test Facilitator and Evaluator Handbook 

When Recovering from a disaster, safety is a primary issue, as well as mental and physical well-being. Disaster recovery is a gradual process. If assistance is available, knowing how to access it makes the process faster and less stressful. Post-storm cleanup and power outages may cause situations that require additional safety measures.

• Post-storm cleanup – After a storm has passed, failure to remove contaminated materials from your home can cause health risks. If there is flooding along with a storm, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) advises homeowners that water must be removed as quickly as possible since it may contain material from overflowing sewage systems.
  • Illness Prevention During Storm Cleanup – To help prevent the spread of diseases that can cause illness it is important to wash your hands often, especially during cleanup efforts after a storm. Debris, floodwater and other remnants of the storm may harbor disease-causing bacteria and viruses.
• Power Outages – It’s important to be prepared if you experience a power outage during an emergency. Take inventory of items you need that require electricity. Keep your cellphone and other portable devices charged ahead of time and buy a backup charging device to power electronics.
  • Know Your Medical Needs – Talk to your medical provider about a power outage plan for medical devices powered by electricity and refrigerated medicines. Find out how long medication can be stored at higher temperatures and get specific guidance for any medications that are critical for life.
  • Private Wells and Onsite Sewage Systems – Power outages can cause problems for homeowners with wells and/or certain onsite sewage systems. If your home is served by a well, the well pump will not work when the power goes out. Keep sufficient potable water on hand for drinking and cooking.
  • Remember to keep generators and other alternate power/heat sources outside, at least 20 feet away from windows and doors and protected from moisture; and NEVER try to power the house by plugging a generator into a wall outlet.
  • Portable generators can cause carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, electrical shock/electrocution or fire. Please make sure you know how to properly use a generator before turning it on.
  • Food Safety – If you lost power, discard any perishable food that has been above 40°F for two hours or more. Just remember, “When in doubt, throw it out!”

 More Emergency Preparedness Resources:

• VDH Severe Weather Preparedness
• Learn how to be ready for an emergency or disaster – Ready.gov.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Emergency Preparedness and Response: https://emergency.cdc.gov/.
• Check out the CDC’s Preparedness and Safety Messaging for Hurricanes, Flooding, and Similar Disasters guide, which provides preparedness and response resource for all jurisdictions to use before, during, and after a response.

International Overdose Awareness Week is an observance adopted to raise awareness of substance use disorder and the challenges that exist for those impacted. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) the hope is that the observance will “combat stigmatization, promote treatment, celebrate recovery and strengthen collective efforts to prevent overdose deaths.” The week is highlighted by International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31, which recognizes people who go unseen.

Drug use and drug addiction affect all communities in Virginia. The most recent statistics show that in 2022, there were 2,490 deaths due to drug overdose. Also, during that year, nearly 23,000 Virginians received drug overdose related hospital emergency care.

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has been actively working with the Governor’s office and other state agencies by providing services and programs to help people struggling with substance abuse. The Governor’s Right Help, Right Now initiative is focused on providing behavioral health support that includes the following focus areas.

• Same day care for behavioral health crisis
• Reduction of criminalization of mental health
• Expand capacity to serve those who need behavioral health services
• Support for substance use disorders and overdose
• Strengthening the behavioral health workforce.

VDH has recently created a new Overdose Prevention website that provides a comprehensive list of programs and services for people in need. The website highlights harm reduction services—support to help keep people safe and reduce the chance of getting infections, overdosing, and death. Some examples of services include information about how to obtain fentanyl test strips. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that can be purchased as a prescription but is also used illegally. The test strips can detect whether fentanyl is in something that you are using.

VDH also provides education and information on a medication called naloxone. Naloxone can reverse an opioid overdose. The medication is available to support community partners who serve those struggling with addiction. The medication may be obtained over the counter or from your healthcare provider. The Department of Health and Developmental Services provides training on how to use naloxone. The Rapid REVIVE training teaches participants how to recognize an overdose and how to use the naloxone medication to save a life.

Mosquitoes are the bane of summertime life. Not only are they annoying and irritating, but they are also one of the world’s most dangerous spreaders of disease. West Nile virus, La Crosse encephalitis, Eastern equine encephalitis, malaria, and a host of other diseases can stem from a simple mosquito bite.

Yet as dangerous as they are, controlling them can be rather simple and straightforward. Therefore, on World Mosquito Day, observed every Aug. 20, we shine a spotlight on these tiny insects, the big problems they can cause, and the simple steps people can take to control them.

Worldwide, for example, malaria claims up to half a million lives. Here in Virginia, the most common disease mosquitos are known to transmit through their bites is the West Nile virus (WNV). When you’ve been infected by the West Nile virus, the symptoms can include a headache, fever, joint pain, a rash, and vomiting. Mild WNV cases can last from 3-6 days, while moderate to severe cases can linger from weeks to up to three to six months.  Some people may die from the illness or be left neurologically impaired for life.

And it’s looking as if the West Nile season is getting underway earlier than usual this year in Virginia. Surveillance programs in the local health districts have already detected the presence of West Nile virus in local mosquito populations in Central, Eastern, and Northern Virginia.

The public can take several steps to protect themselves from mosquitoes and the diseases they spread.

One of the most obvious steps is to wear long sleeves and pants and limit the amount of exposed skin when you’re outside in the evening and at night.  And as the prime vectors of WNV only fly and bite from dusk to dawn and have a tendency to fly through open, unscreened windows to bite sleeping people indoors, one should not sleep with windows open unless they are well screened.

And when you are outside in the evening hours, consider wearing mosquito repellents on bare arms, legs, neck and other exposed areas of skin. Effective repellents include those containing one or more of the following repellents:

• DEET
• Picaridin
• IR3535
• Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE)
• Para-menthane-diol (PMD)
• 2-undercanone.

At night, be sure to close your home’s windows, or make sure that your window screens are closed and in good condition.

Check outside your home property to be sure there are no containers of standing water, as these can serve as the perfect breeding grounds for the mosquito species that can carry WNV. Things like backyard wading pools, ornamental ponds, bird baths, neglected swimming pools, flowerpot trays, buckets, and used tires can all serve as sources of standing water for mosquitoes to breed in.  Bird baths, ornamental ponds and wading pools should either be treated, dumped / drained and rinsed / washed out on a weekly basis before being refilled.  Containers of water that cannot be dumped or drained should be regularly treated with mosquito larvicide dunks.

You may learn more about mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases at the Virginia Department of Health website.