Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department

08/29/2025

Our offices will be closed Monday, September 1 in observance of Labor Day. We will resume normal business hours Tuesday, September 2.

08/29/2025

Sometimes it’s hard to know if substance use is becoming a problem, especially when it’s part of daily life or social routines. Take the free “Is Your Substance Use Harmful?” assessment at myhealthymind.crediblemind.com to understand your risk.

08/28/2025

Our Safe Kids Lincoln-Lancaster County team is often out providing educational presentations in Lincoln and Lancaster County. They were guest speakers at a recent Kiwanis Club of Lincoln - Cornhusker Luncheon and Safe Kids also received a $500 donation. Thank you to Cornhusker Kiwanis for supporting Safe Kids’ child passenger safety efforts in our community for more than 15 years!

08/27/2025

We've released the third video "Nutrition and Hydration" in our “6 Pillars for Emotional Wellbeing – A Parent’s Guide” series. The series helps build healthy habits into everyday life that support youth emotional health.

We don't always connect what we eat to our emotional wellbeing. Good food is fuel for the body and the mind, and water is necessary to help us take full advantage of the benefits. We can't forget the importance of the basics.

In the latest video, you'll hear from local health experts, partners and parents. Here's a preview ⬇️

Learn more at lincoln.ne.gov/6Pillars_____________________________________Music and some footage licensed through Envato Elements.

08/26/2025

Last chance to take advantage of HazToGo’s extended summer hours this Wednesday, August 27 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Summer hours may be ending but HazToGo is still here for you year round! In September, we’re open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday and the third Saturday of the month. Stay tuned for our fall mobile collection events! 🍂

Learn more at HaztoGo.com__________You can also follow LNKTV Health team at http://lnktvhealth.lincoln.ne.gov/ Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube Cha...

08/25/2025

It's bat season! 🦇 Tips from Lincoln Animal Control on how to keep bats out of the house.

REMINDER – We’re in 🦇 BAT🦇 season and bat-related calls have already picked up at Lincoln Animal Control. With recent storms and tree damage, some bats have lost their habitats and are coming into people’s houses. Keep an eye out for holes the size of a dime and bat droppings. These are good indicators that you may have bats. Please contact a wildlife removal agency to assess the situation and assist in fixing the property. If you do find a bat in your house, call Animal Control at 402-441-7900.

Simple steps you can take to keep bats out of the house:
- Examine your home for holes where bats could enter. Caulk any openings larger than a dime.
- Use window screens, chimney caps and make sure there are draft guards beneath doors to attics and basements.
- Fill electrical and plumbing holes with stainless steel wool or caulking.
- Ensure that all doors to the outside close tightly.

08/22/2025

LLCHD in the community! Our team was smiling and ready for the day when the doors opened at our WIC Community Baby Shower last weekend. Guests got to learn about WIC, meet WIC Peer Counselors, connect with community organizations and much more! Thanks to the close to 100 people who attended and our Healthy Families Nebraska and Family Connects programs along with all our community partners who helped make this event a success including UnitedHealthcare, Nebraska Total Care and Molina Healthcare of Nebraska.

If you missed the event, you can still learn more about WIC. Give us a call at 402-441-6200.

08/21/2025

Please stay vigilant and protect yourself and your family from mosquito bites as we head into peak West Nile virus season! 🦟 Surveillance activities across the state have identified many mosquito pools testing positive for West Nile virus. While none are here in Lancaster County so far, it's important to remember that we usually see positive mosquito pools and human cases every year.

Prevent mosquito bites by taking these precautions:
✅ Limit time outdoors at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.
✅ Wear long-sleeved shirts, pants, shoes, and socks when outside.
✅ Use an EPA-registered insect repellent when spending time outside such as those with DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol, or 2-undecanone. Visit https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents for more information.

Reducing mosquito breeding areas can have a positive impact on reducing disease transmission. Here's what you can do:
☑️ Dump small wading pools daily.
☑️ Maintain swimming pools properly.
☑️ Clear debris and weeds from drainage ways.
☑️ Store tires and containers inside where they can’t collect water.

08/19/2025

Back to school means back to packing school lunches, but they don’t have to be boring or time consuming! Here’s some helpful tips for building BALANCED, simple, picky-eater-approved lunches:

🫑 Mix and match fruits and vegetables – Offering a variety keeps interest, and consumption, on the rise!
Try: Strawberries – Pineapple – Plums – Apple slices (add a little lemon juice to keep from browning)

Got a picky veggie eater? These veggies are DIPABLE: Cucumbers – Bell peppers – Snap peas – Cherry Tomatoes (halved or quartered for younger kids)

🍞 Check for WHOLE grains
When choosing bread, buns, tortillas, or pasta – check that the label says 100% whole grain (remember that bread labeled “honey wheat” or “multi-grain” does not mean whole wheat)

Need some crunch?
Try: Air-popped popcorn, whole grain crackers, pretzels, roasted chickpeas

🥚 Pair with protein for satiety and focus – Think beyond deli meat sandwiches!

Tasty protein options: Greek yogurt (with fruit or part of a savory veggie dip) – Hard cooked eggs – Hummus – Nut or seed butters – Cheese (sticks, balls, slices, etc. etc.)

Don’t be afraid to repurpose leftovers for easy, satisfying lunches – Some DINNER RE-DOs:
- Baked chicken breast = Chicken and veggie wrap
- Extra pasta noodles = Pasta salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese and Italian dressing
- Refried beans = Bean, cheese and bell pepper burrito

💧 Rethink their drink – WATER and MILK for the win!
While learning and playing at recess is hard work, kids don’t need sports drinks to stay hydrated at school – water or unflavored milk (or soy milk) will do the job just fine.

If your kiddo insists on juice, try to stick to those labeled as 100% Fruit Juice – don’t be fooled by “fruit-flavored” sugar-sweetened beverages. Avoid packing sodas or lemonades.

Packed lunches can be easy, kid-friendly, and healthy on a budget – find what works best for your family!

08/15/2025

Beach Watch update 08/14/25: Bluestem Lake on Alert

The state has extended the previous health alerts for Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), also known as toxic blue-green algae, at Bluestem Lake in Lancaster County.

Samples taken earlier this week at Bluestem were above the threshold of 8 parts-per-billion (ppb) of total microcystin (a toxin released by certain strains of blue-green algae).

When a health alert is issued, signs are posted to advise the public to use caution, and designated swimming beaches are closed during the alert. Recreational boating and fishing are permitted, but the public is advised to use caution and avoid exposure to the water, particularly avoiding any activity that could lead to swallowing the water. Do not let pets get in the water or drink from the lake. People can still use the public areas for camping, picnics and other outdoor activities.
For more information and to view DWEE’s new interactive Beach Watch map ➡️ https://deq-iis.ne.gov/zs/bw/

08/15/2025

Another stretch of extreme heat today and Saturday.🌡 High temps can be dangerous if you're not careful. Stay safe by following these tips:

🚗 Never leave children or pets in a parked car
💧 Drink plenty of water
🟠 Limit outdoor activities
👕 Wear loose, light-colored clothing and put on sunscreen if you need to be outside
❄️ Find air conditioned places to cool off
☑️ Check on family, friends, neighbors and pets

08/14/2025

LLCHD and partners, Bryan Health and CHI Health St. Elizabeth, are excited to bring CredibleMind to our community. It's a new online platform designed to support mental wellbeing and provides evidence-based mental health resources that can be personalized to fit your needs.

CredibleMind is a tool that can be used to better understand and take charge of your own mental wellbeing. It’s a one-stop-shop to learn new skills, take assessments, and find helpful information and local resources.

Visit myhealthymind.crediblemind.com. It’s free, confidential and available 24/7.

More on what you'll find:
➡️ Access to over 10,000 self-care and mental wellbeing resources covering more than 100 topics including anxiety, depression, grief, parenting, relationships, self-care, stress, substance use and more
➡️ Assessments that help you understand your own mental health
➡️ Content that’s adaptable to your needs and learning style
➡️ Connections to local mental wellbeing resources