Jefferson County Health Agency to Expand Bilingual Efforts

 Jefferson County health officials plan to expand bilingual efforts to reach the area’s growing Hispanic population.

But health officials say the transition will take time and money.

The Journal reports that the Jefferson County Health Department’s board discussed the issue at a recent meeting.

Health department administrator Christina Jackson says the agency is looking at everything from brochures to its website.

Jackson says additional signs in Spanish have been ordered for the department’s office in Kearneysville. A nurse helps with some limited translation work and a telephone translation service is available.

Board member Lorena Nathan says she hopes brochures in Spanish are available when the Mexican consulate sponsors a local health fair in October. She says she saw only brochures in English during the Mexican consulate’s recent visit.