Scotland County Health Department / Home Health Agency

06/12/2026

06/12/2026

Updated WIC income eligibility guidelines were just released! A family of 2 with a pre-tax (gross) income at or below $40,034 annually now qualifies. Participants in SNAP, TA and most MO HealthNet programs are automatically income-eligible for WIC. To find out if you qualify for WIC, complete our Online Interest Form to have a WIC local agency contact you: https://moexperience.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9yOkwmd0Zv93emO.

06/12/2026

What is it? The ability to experience and accept your emotions as they are in every situation and interacting with other people's emotions skillfully even when the interaction is difficult.

There are 5 pillars of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-management, motivation empathy and people skills.
Self-awareness is understanding your own emotions, strengths, and weaknesses. It is also being aware of the impact your feelings can have on your behavior and actions, hopefully you control your reactions and your behavior. Self-awareness lets you understand how your actions and words make others feel. Develop self-awareness by stopping occasionally and thinking how you feel and what is causing your emotions. Realize emotions don't last so it's better not to make decisions based on them. Ask yourself how negative emotions (anger, frustration, fear) affect you.

Self-management is the ability to correctly handle your behavior. It is managing stress without blowing up, by avoiding quick reactions and finding something that works for you (focus on breathing, walk away or think of something calming). Practice expressing your feelings in a controlled and appropriate manner. Don't let bad moods or strong emotions control you.

Motivation is what drives you to accomplish things. Be reasonable, don't expect too much from yourself but introduce challenges to keep tasks interesting.

Empathy, the ability to emotionally understand what other people feel. Finding what makes people feel listened to, cared for and valued. Connecting on an emotional level even if you do not agree with them.

People skills are what allow you to communicate and interact well with people. Being a good listener, asking appropriate questions, positive body language and having eye contact are a few.

You must be aware of your emotions in order to manage them. Take time to think about your emotional challenges, process them so they are not stuffed and control them so they don't cause you to act out. That might mean to take time and think through them and then discuss them. It is healthy to express how things hurt you or make you angry in an appropriate way. People usually get mad when they are overwhelmed another reason to walk away from trying situations. It's also helpful to remember when people upset you they might be overwhelmed and not trying to be difficult. Don't take it personally and don't act like them. It's hard to handle problems when you are in the moment. You can't control other people. Expecting people to do things are often attempts to control them. If you expect behaviors and people fail, you compare them to what you expect from them rather than the people they are. Let people be who they are, hear their struggles but you set boundaries for wrong behavior. Like them, not necessarily what they do.

Health Educator, Michelle Chrisman

06/05/2026

Weekly Word, harvesting and cooking with herbs.

Fresh herbs have a vibrant flavor and aroma, making dishes shine, often used uncooked or at the end of cooking to maintain flavor. Fresh herbs don't stay at their peak flavor for long. If you cut them too soon they lack the oils that give the most flavor and nutrition, wait too late and leaves turn bitter. Knowing how and when to harvest lets you get the most out of the herbs and encourage new growth (if the plant is made to keep producing as a few are not). Most herbs taste best just before they bloom, when the leaves contain the most concentrated oils.

When.
Harvest early in the morning after the dew has dried and before the heat dissipates the essential oils that give them their flavor.
Thyme and rosemary needs to be at least 6 inches tall before trimming.
Cut dill and chives as needed but when preserving them, harvest when the flower buds form, but before fully opened.
Some herbs lose their flavor when: leaves turn yellow or develop dry brown tips, growth stops or crushing the leaves produces no scent.

How to harvest
Clean cuts help herbs recover better and quicker.
Cut just above a set of leaves.
Remove no more than 1/3 of the plant at a time.
Start with outer stems.
Hold the stem with one hand and cut with the other for least damage.
These are general guidelines, each herb has a preferred way to be harvested but this method will work.
Cilantro, dill and parsley will not regrow after harvesting.

Storing herbs
Once picked, herbs lose flavor but you can extend the flavor by storing them right, depending on how long before you use them.
Use in the next few days and you can stand the stems in water, cover loosely with a plastic bag in the fridge.
Need them to last a couple weeks: wrap herbs in a damp paper towel and put in a container then in the refrigerator crisper drawer.
Long storage: many herbs like to be air-dried. Basil and parsley lose flavor when dried so freezing is best for them.
When air drying, tie in smaller bundles and hang upside down out of sunlight with good airflow. Check in 1-2 weeks for dry, crisp leaves. Strip the stems of the leaves and store in a clean container out of the light/heat.

Keep the herbs growing
Routine trimming keeps the plants flavorful and from going to seed.
Remove flower buds as soon as they appear.
Feed monthly with fertilizer.
Cut herbs once or twice a week to encourage new stems.
If the plant turns leggy or starts to brown, trim it back halfway and give it time to grow, you will usually get another crop.

Cooking
Basil shines with pasta dishes, salads and pesto.
Thyme is great with meats, soups and stews.
Cilantro is ideal for salsa's, dressings, and as a garnish.
Rosemary has a bold flavor for roasted dishes and marinades- especially potatoes and chicken.

Medicinal herbs
Peppermint soothes digestive issues and adds flavor to drinks.
Chamomile is known for its calming properties and is used often in teas.
Lavender is used for relaxation in teas and desserts.
Echinacea boosts immunity and can be made into tea.

Uses
Try to make a compound butter by adding herbs you like, maybe chives, rosemary, parsley and garlic. It's great on meat, vegetables and corn on the cob.
Deep fry basil or sage for about 10 seconds until translucent and crisp. Use as crunchy topping for soups, meats, pastas or roasted meats.
Mix finely chopped thyme (or others) with breadcrumbs, lemon zest and chopped pistachios for a flavorful crust on fish.
Chives are delicious in scrambled eggs, mixed in whipped cream cheese or cottage cheese, and really good in homemade biscuits with cheese.
Sage is good thrown in at the end of sauteing mushrooms, some make tea with it and others infuse olive oil with it to make a flavored oil. Be careful, a little goes a long way.
Take rosemary stems and use as skewers for meat, it will infuse some flavor into the meat. People also put 4-6 sprigs of rosemary in a small pot of water with sliced lemons and vanilla to make a fresh smelling home deodorizer.

05/28/2026

05/28/2026

Weekly Word, It's Tick Season- prime time.

In this part of the world we are all familiar with ticks. The small blood sucking relative of spiders that can transmit serious diseases, making awareness, prevention and prompt removal important. Ticks are most active from early spring through late fall, with prime activity from April to July. In fall they will slow in activity and unfortunately the cold doesn't kill them. They go dormant on really cold days, usually when the temperature is below freezing only to pop out again when it gets a little above freezing.

Ticks eat in cycles and can go 200 days without food or water. Most require a single blood meal during each of their three life cycles therefore called 3- host ticks. Meaning, they actively seek, eat, then drop off a host at each of their 3 life stages.

Some helpful info on ticks: they crawl up. Ticks don't jump, fly, or drop from trees like once believed. They are typically on tall grasses or the ground and hitch a ride when you brush by them. For most tick-borne diseases, you have around 24 hours to remove a feeding tick before it transmits a disease or infection. Coming in from the outside and showering can help remove any unattached trespassers. Check yourself carefully and consider doing it more than once, like again at bedtime. You will be amazed how many avoid the first inspection.
Think of a tick as a germ filled sack. Squeezing an attached tick too hard can force all the germs up and into you- host number 1, 2 or 3. It is a good idea to use pointed tweezers that can grab them at skin level to avoid squeezing and pull them up and out.

Wear protective clothing when going out in tick territory. Light colored clothes let you spot them easier. Many people tuck pants into socks or wrap pant legs with duct tape inside out so the sticky side is out and ticks get stuck while attempting to crawl up. Pets can be tick taxis so check them when coming in from outside. They are often found in pet's ears, tail, toes, groin around the collar and even on the gums although they can be anywhere. Ticks are often found in long grass, woodpiles and anywhere it's moist and shaded.

There are chemical and natural repellants you can use when going out in their habitat. Natural repellants, which include essential oils, are found to be effective but may need to be reapplied every few hours. After touching a tick be sure to wash your hands and once one has been removed it might be a good idea to clean the area with rubbing alcohol, iodine or soap and water. Don't be a good host.

05/14/2026