Holsman aims to keeps county’s moms and babies healthy

As maternal child health coordinator and family planning coordinator at the Cole County Health Department, Jana Holsman’s goal is to improve birth outcomes in the county.

“Our focus this year is on tobacco cessation in pregnant women,” she said. “Those moms who smoke during pregnancy run the risks of having a low birth-weight baby or the child developing asthma.”

Holsman has been with the department for seven months. She began her career in maternal health as a labor and delivery nurse at a local hospital.

Holsman’s duties with the health department include going out with the county nurse practitioner to assist with well-woman exams, sexually transmitted disease testing and contraceptive care.

“I believe more people are taking advantage of what we have to offer,” she said. “We are seeing an increase across the board in STDs, so the need for care has increased.”

Cole County has seen 405 cases of sexually transmitted diseases reported in the first seven months of 2018, according to provisional data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Holsman is also the child care health consultant for the health department, which means she goes to child care centers to do health promotions with children ages 3-5. In that session, she emphasizes proper hand washing, oral hygiene, nutrition and sun safety.

The new Cole County Health Department building on West Truman Boulevard is scheduled to open for business Oct. 1. Holsman said they are anxious to move into the facility, which will provide more room than the current Industrial Drive site.

“Our plan is to be able to provide more health education classes and healthy cooking demonstrations for our clients and the community,” she said.

To learn more about services the Cole County Health Department offers, call 573-636-2181.