Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. Get tested if you have symptoms. Wear a mask if you have symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19. Wear a mask on public transportation. You may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect yourself and others. If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider wearing a mask indoors in public and taking additional precautions.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus, more often referred to simply as RSV, is a common virus that affects the lungs and breathing passages. RSV may not be severe when it first starts but can progress quickly.

Each year, an estimated 60,000 to 120,000 adults aged 65 and older and 58,000 to 80,000 children younger than five are hospitalized due to an RSV infection.

The current year has been particularly difficult for RSV across the nation and here in the Salina area. The combination of higher than normal cases of influenza and RSV coupled with the ongoing spread of COVID-19 is causing concern that a"tripledemic" is poised to overwhelm a healthcare system that is still not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Candice Sauers joined the Saline County Health Department this year as the administration specialist.

"I like numbers, so accounts payable is my favorite part of my job," she said. "I have a strong background in health, and I like being a part of an organization where I feel I can make a difference in the community."

She handles accounts payable, deposits, inventory, some of the purchasing, and building vendor coordination for the health department.

"It takes a lot of work behind the scenes to keep the Health Department running," explained Jason Tiller, Health Department executive director. "Candis is a significant part of making that magic happen."

Outside of work, Candice is an avid waterfowl hunter. While in nursing school, she worked at a dairy seven days a week for five months to pay for a trip to go goose and duck hunting in Canada.

We're seeking volunteers to serve on the Health Department Advisory Council (HDAC).

The purpose of this council is to advise and assist the Saline County Health Department’s efforts as part of the local public health system to address public health issues affecting the community.



For more information or to submit an Expression of Interest form for this and other Saline County boards and committees, visit SalineCountyKS.gov/Boards-Committees.

Find out more about the COVID-19 situation in Saline County, Kansas -

Tamera was prescribed opioid medication to manage chronic severe headaches. Before she started taking opioid pain medications, she had a steady, long-standing career and lived in a comfortable home with her young son. Tamera became addicted to prescription opioids within a year, and everything changed. She began requiring larger doses to experience the same effects the drugs once provided. She was written prescriptions by four different doctors before and began purchasing pills on the street. Tamera describes getting to a point where the only thing that mattered to her was finding a way to maintain the numb feeling she got from the prescription opioids. Her career, her home, and a significant amount of retirement savings were all lost to her addiction. Tamera says that her addiction “took everything” that she had. Tamera was eventually forced to part with her son, who went to live with his father, so that Tamera could get treatment.

After a number of years, Tamera was able to overcome her addiction. She still experiences residual health problems due to her opioid addiction, including hearing loss, digestive issues, and throat damage that has affected her voice. Her son still lives with his father; however, Tamera is grateful that she and her son continue to have a good relationship. Today, Tamera is working at Hope House recovery center, and she recently became a Certified Addiction Recovery Empowerment Specialist (CARES) through the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse.