The Wood County Health Department is celebrating 100 years, and recently looked at the past, the present
and the future of public health.
The department held a centennial celebration Thursday, attended by staff as well as city and county
leaders.
In his 10 years with the department, Commissioner Ben Batey said he has seen a drastic change from
individual services to community services at large.
“The focus becomes along the lines of looking towards how we can impact entire populations,” he said.
Batey spoke about the current status of public health while Ned Baker spoke about its past and Phil
Welch, a Bowling Green State University professor who teaches public health classes, did a presentation
on the future.
Baker was a sanitarian in Wood County from 1950-15 and retired in 1992 as the director of Northwest Ohio
Area Health Education Centers at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo. That same year he helped form
the National Association of Local Boards of Health. He also served as a member of the Wood County Board
of Health for 13 years.
“It certainly is an honor to be here at this 100th anniversary at one of the best health departments in
Ohio and in the nation,” Baker said.
In 1917 and 1918, Ohio experienced outbreaks of smallpox and influenza. In 1919, the state legislature
passed legislation that established general health districts across the state. In 1920, the first
district advisory council meeting was held Jan. 20 in Wood County, at which it was determined that the
county townships and the City of Bowling Green would function as one health district.
“I wasn’t here 100 years ago but I wasn’t too far off,” said Baker, who is 93.
He explained how he interviewed for the county sanitarian job, “and before I got out the door, the health
commissioner said, ‘you’re hired.’”
The only problem he saw when he started work was there was only six other staff people in the department.
At that time, the office was on Clough Street.
The 1950s saw the advent of a grading system for restaurants.
“They had to carry a sign in the restaurant that showed the public if they were a grade A restaurant, a
grade B restaurant or a grade C restaurant. That was always kind of interesting,” Baker said.
Since leaving in 1954, he has maintained involvement in the county department, with the state health
department and the national organization, which has its offices in Bowling Green.
“You all do one great job. Keep it up and I’ll look forward to the 200 anniversary,” Baker said.
Batey said there are now roughly 65 staff members, compared to seven 70 years ago.
His first interaction with the health department was as a graduate student, attending a board of health
meeting.
“I sat through that board meeting … and said this is so boring I don’t ever want to attend one of these
again.”
Batey started several months later as the infectious disease and emergency preparedness coordinator. His
first weekend was when the tornado hit Lake Township in June 2010.
“I spent the whole next week of my first week here giving tetanus shots and interacting with impacted
families.
“That’s public health. We go where we’re needed when we’re needed,” Batey said.
His goals for the next 10 years are to become the chief health strategist for Wood County and bring all
the community partners together “and keep this coordinated effort we built over the years.”
Expansion of services comes with the need, and the need is determined with a community health assessment
every three years, Batey said.
The health center has been a big focus the last 10 years. Health assessments continually showed there
were people going without health care, people that couldn’t afford their medications, and once that was
fixed, there were people that couldn’t afford the transportation to get here.
“We’ve set it up so any Wood County resident can get transportation to any medical appointment in the
county and in surrounding counties.”
When they learned there were dental needs, dental services were added.
The next survey will be done at the end of 2021. He predicts it will show a need for mental health and
behavior health due to the opioid epidemic.
“We really need to focus on ttacking that and not seeing a negative trend.”
Welch, in addressing the future of public health, said the average lifespan in 1920 was 55; it is now
75-85.
“We’ve come a long way there.”
He addressed short-term, mid-term and long-term public health.
In the short term, Welch will work with Batey this fall to create an academic health department, and the
college just received an opioid grant and will be working with Wood and Erie counties.
Within five years, there will be an endowed professor of public health at BGSU, Welch said.
“Public health services will continue to drive what we do in the next five years, and we’ll get more data
driven,” he said.
It’s hard to know where public health will be long term, Welch said.
“One thing I know for sure is we’ll always have people. In public health, we’re all about people,” he
said.
After the program, former health board member Dr. Ted Bowlus said he saw the evolution of the quality of
the medical clinic and the development of the dental clinic.
“It’s improving the quality of medicine and dentistry in the county. I believe it’s one of the most
beneficial things the county can do, is develop the quality of medicine,” he said.
Bowlus, who is also a Wood County commissioner, said one of the responsibilities of that office is to aid
in the welfare of the county population.
He said there is pride among commissioners in the way the health department has developed.
Batey honored board member Betty Woods for her 24 years on the board and Carolyn Rava for her 21 years of
service. Jan Larson-McLaughlin was recognized for her 30 years of continued media support of the health
department. Baker received the Public Health Champion Award for his years of service.
“We are the guardians that work behind the scenes … to be there so our general residents don’t have to
worry,” Batey said.
He said the recent panic over coronavirus will probably blow over like SARS and MERS, Ebola and Zika.
“We respond to all of these things and we get really worked up, but that is our job to take that on so
that everyone else can rest easy.”
