About Us - Mission, Vision & Values

Now in existence for over 100 years, the Auglaize County Health Department continues to strive to expand its programs and offerings to all 45,920 residents of Auglaize County. Please take a few minutes and browse through the many programs offered here at the Health Department. We appreciate your continued support throughout these many years. Auglaize County is a small primarily rural community comprised of multiple villages and cities including Buckland, Minster, New Bremen, New Knoxville, St. Marys, Uniopolis, Wapakoneta, and Waynesfield.

Mission, Vision & Values

Our Mission


To create a healthier Auglaize County through exceptional public health services focused on promoting health, preventing disease, and protecting those who live, work, and visit our community.



Our Vision


Auglaize County Health Department will be a leader in guiding the community to a healthier and safer future.



Our Values


Safety, Service, Communication, Collaboration, Excellence, & Respect

Our Values

Safety:

We strive to maintain a safe environment for our clients and staff and encourage awareness and preparedness at all times. 

Service:

We will provide professional service to meet the needs of all members of our county through diverse public health outreach and prevention programs. 

Communication:

We will provide transparent and up-to-date information about health and wellness of our county to the public through various communication channels.

Collaboration:

We will increase our county health and safety though effective partnerships with internal and external community partners. 

Excellence:

We will maintain and support a dedicated public health workforce that is committed to improving the health of our community through promotion, prevention, and protection. 

Respect:

We uphold a standard of conduct that recognizes the significance, dignity, and value of all. 

Auglaize Health Funding

Funding for the health department comes from a variety of sources: grants and subsidies from state and federal government; fees for licenses, permits, vital statistics records, and personal health services; and local taxes.


The funds we receive for each grant or state subsidized program is limited to funding specific activities to accomplish specific goals.


Our income from local tax levy funds is the main source of funding for the levy period, and helps us survive the variability in income from grants and fees. Our current 10-year, 1-mill levy was renewed in May of 2015, and is based on 1995 property valuations. The Board of Health will need your continued support in replacing that levy in 2025, to ensure that your health department can offer the most effective combination of high quality public health services for you, your family, and your neighbors, and can remain ready to respond to both familiar and new emerging health concerns.

Auglaize Board of Health

As established by Ohio law, the Board of Health is the policy making body with authority to adopt regulations and implement programs to promote public health within the district. Board of Health members are appointed by the District Advisory Council (DAC), which has the responsibility of appointing Board of Health members and bringing concerns and recommendations on health issues to the Board’s attention.


The DAC meets annually and is composed of the chairman of each township trustees, the mayor of each municipality, and the president of the Auglaize County Board of Commissioners.

Board of Health Members:


  • President: Dan Harpster, DVM (Waynesfield)
  • Vice-President: Kim Prueter (New Bremen)
  • Member: Charolette Axe, RN (St. Marys)
  • Member: Kay Schmiesing, RN (Minster)
  • Member: Thomas Freytag MD (Wapakoneta)

Board Meetings:


Business meetings of the Board are held once a month, while special meetings are called when necessary. The usual meeting date is the second Tuesday of each month at 8:30 am. Board meetings are open to the public and citizen input is encouraged.

Health Commissioner


Oliver Fisher, MS, RS: Appointed to the position of Health Commissioner starting in August of 2014. He is a native to the area having graduated from Wapakoneta High School in 2000. He then went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science from Adrian College in 2004 and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from Youngstown State University in 2006. He worked as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist for Allen County Public Health from 2006 until 2014.

Medical Director


Juan V. Torres-Cordero, MD, MPH: Dr. Torres-Cordero is a public health & general preventive medicine specialist in Saint Marys, OH. He graduated from the Ponce School of Medicine in 1988 and is currently affiliated with Grand Lake Health Systems. Dr. Torres-Cordero is board certified in Public Health & General Preventive Medicine.

Auglaize Public Health

Public health agencies are a lot like fire departments. They teach and practice prevention at the same time they maintain readiness to take on emergencies. They are most appreciated when they respond to emergencies. They are most successful – and least noticed – when their prevention measures work the best. In another respect, the two are different. We all know what a fire department does: few know what a public heath department does.


The very existence of health departments is testament to the fact that, when legislators, county commissioners, mayors, township trustees, and other policy makers understand what those departments do, they support them. It is a rare person who, once familiar with the day-to-day activities of a public health department, would want to live in a community without a good one.

The real causes of health problems


Most preventable health problems are caused by tobacco use, improper diet, lack of physical activity, alcohol misuse, microbial and toxic agents, firearm use, unsafe sexual behavior, motor vehicle crashes, and illicit use of drugs. These causes are chiefly a result of human behavior. While universal access to personal medical care is a critical goal of health system reform, personal behavior change has greater potential to address the fundamental causes of health problems. Since 1900, the average life expectancy of Americans has gone from 45 to 75 years – a 30-year increase. Public health, through such measures as sanitation, immunization and education is responsible for about 25 of those years.


The heart of public health: Population-based prevention


The goal of public health is prevention of disease, injury, disability, and premature death. Prevention includes primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention activities. Primary prevention, the focus of public health, reduces susceptibility or exposure to health threats. Immunizations and health education are examples. Secondary prevention most often detects and treats disease in early stages. A mammography program to detect breast cancer is an example.

Tertiary prevention alleviates some of the effects of disease, injury, and disability through such means as surgery, physical therapy and medication. Public health is not simply medical care funded or provided through public means. The services of public health are less visible and more difficult to understand than medical services. Public health prevention protects entire communities or populations from such threats as communicable diseases, epidemics, and environmental contaminants. It does so through a highly collaborative approach, which most often affects citizens as members of the general public rather than as patients.


The most common and effective public health activities are in the area of primary prevention, which has two main components: health promotion and health protection. Health promotion includes health education and the fostering of healthy living conditions and life-styles. Activities are directed toward individuals, families, groups, or entire communities, helping people identify needs, get useful information and resources, and take action to achieve change.



Health protection services and programs control and reduce the exposure of the population to environmental or personal hazards, conditions, or factors that may cause health problems. Health protection includes immunization, infectious disease surveillance and outbreak investigations, water purification, sewage treatment, control of infectious wastes, inspection of restaurant food services, and numerous other activities.


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