BOULDER -- The past six months have been a time of transition for the nursing office at the Jefferson County Public Health Department.

Rebecca Judd came on board at the end of June as the supervising nurse for the department.

In September, Molly Molitor, a Boulder-area native, joined the staff as clinic coordinator. And a month later, Melissa Mixan, a registered nurse from Nebraska, was hired as a public health nurse.

Judd, a recent graduate of Carroll College's registered nursing program, is fairly new to the public health field.

She was drawn to nursing because of her passion for science and her desire to help people.

She's found that public health nursing further focuses on those interests.

"I really like sociology," Judd said. "When I learned there was something that combined nursing and sociology -- that was my cup of tea."

Now that the department is back to full staff, it is again offering a full array of services and office hours, said Judd.

A new emphasis will be nurse visits to the homes of all newborn premature babies in the county.

The nurses will check the infants' health, weigh them and report back to their pediatricians.

"One of our goals is to do active outreach and ask mothers, 'Do you have any questions?'

"Mostly we try to educate them about safety and health."

The department also continues to provide vaccinations.

The Vaccinations for Children program offers vaccinations for infants to 18-year-olds at reduced rates.

However, if a family can't pay, vaccinations will be given for free.

"No one is turned away," Judd said.

Immunization guidelines have changed in the past five years, Judd said. She encourages parents to check with the health department or their pediatricians to make sure immunizations are current.

In the future, she said, the staff would like to provide vaccination clinics at the schools.

Lately, it's flu shots that have kept the staff on the go.

They've given about 350 shots in the past few months.

Guidelines for the vaccinations have changed in recent years. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control now encourages vaccination against influenza A for folks of all ages, infants through elderly (unless the individual is allergic to eggs).

Not only do immunizations provide individual protection, but they prevent influenza from sweeping through a community.

Judd is also overseeing the department's central role in the county's emergency-preparedness efforts, which are part of a federal initiative.

The department will work with other emergency providers this year to hold drills and exercises in how to respond to a mass-casualty situation.

Traditional health department services -- from blood pressure clinics, to monitoring contagious diseases, to providing information on immunizations for overseas travel -- are also offered.

Wellness is another emphasis.

"People can do proactive things for their health," Judd said. "They can stop in here and we can help them with that."

The clinic has a scale that measures body fat and bone density.

The nurses can also screen children, from ages 2 months to 5 years, on developmental skills.

"We can refer people on if their child needs help," Judd said. "The earlier it's done, the better. I would love to have people call up and say, 'Can you administer that screening tool?' "

County residents traveling overseas can learn how to protect their health while traveling and can get some of the common immunizations needed.

Although the clinic doesn't provide all the services that larger health departments can, staff will refer people to other clinics.

Judd welcomes county residents to stop in and use the services the health department offers.

Office hours

Jefferson County Health Department nursing office hours. Call 225-4007 for information.

Boulder, 214. S. Main, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday, Wednesday, Thursday; and 8:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday and Friday.

Clancy, the Old School House, 1 to 4 p.m. Friday.

Whitehall, 11 East Legion, 1-4 p.m. Tuesday.

Reporter Marga Lincoln: 447-4074 or marga.lincoln@helenair.com