Alleghany Roanoke Health Districts

The Environmental Health Division of the Alleghany/Roanoke City Health Districts provides public health services to a population of approximately 264,000 citizens in eight localities of Southwest Virginia. The Districts cover 1,637 square miles from Blue Ridge Parkway in Roanoke County, across Roanoke City, the “Star City of the South”, to the West Virginia State border at Alleghany and Craig Counties. Program services include education, monitoring, and code enforcement of food sanitation, rabies control, public swimming pool sanitation, tourist establishment sanitation, onsite sewage disposal systems, wells, vector control, lead-based paint poisoning prevention, West Nile Virus surveillance, and numerous general environmental health complaints, issues, and concerns.

The Environmental Health Division is housed in four health department locations throughout the two districts:

Alleghany County /Covington (Also serves Clifton Forge)
Craig County
Botetourt County
Roanoke County (serving Roanoke County, Vinton Roanoke City, and Salem City)

The Division consists of one Environmental Health Manager Senior, one Environmental Health Supervisor, five Office Support staff, 14 Environmental Health Specialist Seniors (EHS’s), and two exterminators. Eight EHS’s are specialized in the food and general environmental programs, five are specialized in onsite and well programs, and one performs all program functions.

During the calendar year 2002:

*More than 2,624 food establishment inspections were performed for over 1,000 establishments based on the Commonwealth’s Priority Assessment Tool

*1,071 additional inspections were conducted at temporary food events

*More than 200 inspections were conducted at public swimming pools under both local and state codes

*More than 100 inspections and advisory visits were made to the one milk processing plant in the Roanoke Valley, and approximately 125 samples were collected for laboratory analysis

*Approximately 2,528 vector control and general environmental complaints were investigated

*More than 685 onsite and well applications were processed

*Rabies investigations of 545 animal bite incidents were conducted and processed by the staff, giving education in this fatal disease

*More than 500 calls were received related to West Nile Virus and 150 birds were collected with 42 testing positive

*Mosquito surveillance and trapping was conducted and 15 positive mosquito pools were identified.

For further information concerning any program within the Environmental Health Division of the Alleghany/Roanoke City Health Districts, call the District Office at the Roanoke County Health Department, (540) 857-7800, Ext. 124.

If you have questions or comments, you can send an E-Mail to the Health District