Executive Zahilay Announces $900,000 Investment to Strengthen Health and Wellbeing for Immigrant and Refugee Communities in South King County 

Community partners arm in arm at a celebration.

Executive Girmay Zahilay announced that King County is investing $900,000 as part of a new public-private partnership to support the health and wellbeing of immigrant and refugee communities impacted by federal immigration enforcement activities in South King County. Two Best Starts for Kids initiatives based in Public Health – Seattle & King County will be leading the partnership at the county: Communities of Opportunity (COO) and the Community Well-Being Initiative (CWI). They are partnering with the Renton Regional Community Foundation (RRCF) and  Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation to invest in immigrant and refugee communities in south King County.

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Planning ahead: Make back-to-school vaccination appointments now

Mom helping young child with backpack.

School’s about more than math quizzes and book reports. It’s where kids go to play, grow, and build community. But where kids thrive, so do germs. Enter: vaccinations! Vaccinations are the body’s practice test for diseases like measles and whooping cough. That way, if the real thing shows up, kids’ immune systems know exactly what to do.

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Opening doors to health through language access: Portraits of Public Health

Portrait of woman with long brown hair smiling.

Public Health – Seattle & King County’s small but mighty Language Access team opens doors to services and information to help the one in three King County residents who speak a language other than English at home. We wanted to know what makes the Language Access program’s approach unique, so for this Portrait of Public Health, we talked to Claudia who manages the linguists in this program.

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Never touch a bat: What you need to know about bats and rabies

Photo of a bat with wings spread.

Any person or animal that touched or had contact with the bat or its saliva could be at risk of getting rabies. If you see a bat, don’t touch it! Bats lying on the ground, flying during daytime, making a lot of noise, or otherwise acting sick are more likely to have rabies.

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Rabid bat found in Renton at Gene Coulon Park

Map showing location of bat.

Anyone who might have had physical contact with this bat (even if not bitten) could be at risk and should seek medical evaluation immediately or call Public Health to determine if rabies preventative treatment is necessary.

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Bridging the gap between incarceration and community life: Portraits of Public Health 

A woman wearing a pink hajib and patterned top, smiling.

A disproportionate number of people in jails and prisons have chronic medical or behavioral health conditions. When people leave jail, it’s a unique moment to connect them to services in the community that they may not have known about before.   Maliha, a social worker in the Jail Health Release Program, shares about what she does to help people with a range of health conditions as they transition out of incarceration. 

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