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Local Health Officer Training
Section 4: Appointments and Duties
Section 4 Part II
- Prepare for the Work Ahead
- Handling Specific Local Health Officer Situations
- Standard Local Health Officer Complaint-Steps to follow
- Diagram of the Local Health Officer Complaint Flow Chart
- Best Practices of the Local Health Officer
- Knowledge Check 2
Prepare for the Work Ahead
As an LHO, you act as a mediator, a problem solver, an enforcer, an investigator and a reporter. For this reason, you will receive calls from people who have no idea who to ask for assistance regarding public health matters. Perhaps most importantly, you are a reporter. You report on the public health status of the community, and you report to Maine CDC/DHHS on any perceived local public health threats. It is beneficial that the community knows you as the LHO. A notice in the local paper, or the "Know Your LHO" poster help get the word out – as do introductions at annual municipal meetings or at city council meetings. Standard LHO Complaint Flow Chart Diagram. (PDF)(new window)
You cannot be all things to all people – but you can provide assistance and refer problems if you cannot resolve them personally.
When you receive requests for help, it is important to use standard problem solving techniques and to be consistent in how you perform your job. To aid you along these lines, there is a resource chart on the next page showing who might assist with a specific problem. There is also a decision-making flow chart to help guide you through the process – it is a two-page document coming right after the resource chart.
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