Shannon County Health Center

02/22/2026

02/21/2026

At Shannon County Health Center, we love our community… and that includes the four-legged, feathered, and even scaly members of your family too! 🐾❤️

Pets bring so much joy, comfort, and companionship into our lives. They keep us active, lower stress, and make even the toughest days a little brighter. Whether it’s a loyal farm dog, a spoiled house cat, a barn buddy, or a backyard chicken — we know how special they are to Shannon County families.

Today we’re celebrating the pets that make our lives better! 🐶🐱🐴🐰

📸 Drop a picture of your pet in the comments!
We’d love to see the faces (and paws!) that make your house a home.

02/18/2026

🦠 Shannon County Weekly Influenza Update
📅 Week of February 8-14, 2026

Shannon County is seeing a decrease in flu cases, dropping from 18 cases last week to 13 cases this week. 👏

Breakdown of this week’s 13 cases:

*Flu A: 11 cases
*Flu B: 2 cases

This downward trend is encouraging, but flu season isn’t over yet. Let’s keep working together to protect our families and community!

💡 How to Prevent the Flu:

✔️ Wash your hands often with soap and water
✔️ Use hand sanitizer when soap isn’t available
✔️ Avoid close contact with people who are sick
✔️ Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow
✔️ Stay home if you’re feeling sick
✔️ Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces

If you experience fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, or fatigue, contact your healthcare provider—especially for young children, older adults, and those with underlying health conditions.

Let’s keep the numbers trending down! 💙

02/18/2026

Update: Phones are working now!

Our Birch Tree WIC location is having phone and Internet issues. If you need to reach the WIC team today, please call our office at 573-226-3914 and we will get a message to them. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.g

02/14/2026

Dear Shannon County Community,

This Valentine’s Day, I want to take a moment to recognize a different kind of love—the love shown through service, dedication, and commitment to others.

At Shannon County Health Center, our employees show love for this community in the best way they know how, by showing up every day. They show up when it’s busy, when it’s stressful, and when it’s hard. They show up because they truly care about the people of Shannon County.

Our staff members wear many hats. From providing essential services and supporting families, to helping patients and keeping daily operations running behind the scenes, their work impacts our community in countless ways.

As Shannon County Health Center continues to grow, we are also welcoming new faces and new roles that strengthen our ability to serve Shannon County even more effectively. While our team may be evolving, our mission remains the same: to provide quality care and support for the people we serve.

On behalf of Shannon County Health Center, thank you for trusting us. And to our employees, thank you for the compassion, heart, and dedication you bring to this community every single day.

With appreciation,

Jessie Plunk
Administrator
Shannon County Health Center

02/13/2026

We will be closed, Monday, February 16th. We will reopen on Tuesday, February 17th.

02/13/2026

We will be closed, Monday, February 16th for Presidents Day. We will reopen, Tuesday, February 17th.

02/13/2026

📢 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 7-OH 📢

🚨 7-OH (7-Hydroxymitragynine) is a potent psychoactive compound increasingly found in unregulated products sold online and in stores — often marketed as “natural kratom,” energy enhancers, or supplements. These products can look like candies, gummies, powders, drinks, and shots — making them especially dangerous and appealing to young people.

⚠️ WHY 7-OH IS DANGEROUS

🔹 Extremely potent: 7-OH can be up to 13 times stronger than morphine at affecting opioid receptors in the brain.
🔹 Highly addictive: It’s engineered to cause dependence and has far greater addiction potential than natural kratom.
🔹 Unregulated & unsafe: These products are not FDA-approved, lack safety testing, and have no established safe dosage.
🔹 Serious health effects: Users have reported symptoms including nausea, confusion, anxiety, rapid heartbeat, seizures, respiratory depression (stopped breathing), and even death.
🔹 Risk of overdose increases when mixed with alcohol or other drugs.

🧠 WHAT MISSOURI DHSS IS SAYING

The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services has issued a statewide health advisory warning about the growing public health risks associated with 7-OH. Key points include:

📌 7-OH products are sold without age restrictions and can be mistaken for harmless foods, candies, or supplements.
📌 These products have not been tested for safety in humans, making them unpredictable and dangerous.
📌 Calls to poison control and emergency departments related to 7-OH have increased in Missouri.
📌 If you suspect someone has used 7-OH and is very sick or unresponsive, call 911 immediately — and administer naloxone (Narcan) if available.

🛑 SAFETY TIPS

✔️ Avoid products containing 7-OH. Always read ingredient labels carefully.
✔️ Keep these products away from children and pets.
✔️ Talk to friends and family, especially youth, about the dangers.
✔️ Have naloxone on hand if you’re in a community where opioid exposure is possible.
✔️ If you’re struggling with substance use, reach out for help: call 988 or your local health provider.