Health & Inspections
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Health Department
Meet Jody Gates, Director of Health, Inspections & Solid Waste
Jody was born in Ft. Riley, KS but is a long time resident of Ottumwa and Wapello County. As a 1973 OHS graduate she attended Ottumwa Heights College - now Indian Hills Community College - and University of Iowa with major coursework in English. After returning from U of I Jody worked as a bookseller, which helped support her voracious reading habit. In 1989 she began working for the City, first as a food inspector and then in building and housing inspection. A few years later, Jody began working with the Landfill and Recycling Center and after 17 years in solid waste is affectionately known as the "Queen of Trash." In 2005 Jody went back to school and received a bachelor's degree in Public Administration from Buena Vista University. Jody keeps busy away from work reading, weaving and being the able assistant to her husband's home renovation projects. Jody and her husband Rick Long have two grown sons and live in Agency, Iowa.
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Welcome to the the Ottumwa Health Department.
We provide a broad range of environmental health and inspections services to Ottumwa and Wapello County. In fact the only public health services we don't provide are nursing and immunizations, which are performed by the Wapello County Public Health Nursing Service. We work to minimize or eliminate hazards that threaten the environment in your home, neighborhood and throughout the community.
The Ottumwa Health Department is the place to go for licensing and inspection information for construction, restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, bars and lounges, temporary food stands, mobile pushcarts, vending machines, hotels/motels, tanning facilities, tattoo establishments, public swimming pools and funeral homes that are located within Ottumwa and throughout Wapello County. Our Environmental Health Specialists provide mosquito and rodent control in Ottumwa and investigate a broad range of complaints from weeds to junk cars and provide inspections and remediation information to families with lead poisoned children. We also work to improve the community's appearance through the Make Ottumwa Shine program.
Bedbugs are the most recent pest causing a problem for people throughout the country. Here's some helpful information. The Iowa Healthy Homes Initiative developed guidance on bedbug management for multi-family dwellings. For solutions and discussions about other problems you may encounter in homes go to IDPH's Healthy Homes Initiatives http://www.idph.state.ia.us/eh/healthy_homes.asp. The EPA website has information on identifying bedbugs and pesticides that may be used. Follow this link - http://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/
More information about many of the services mentioned is available on this website or you may call the Health Department Monday Friday 7:00 am 5:30 pm at (641) 683-0650 or (641) 683-0610 or e-mail gatesj@ci.ottumwa.ia.us. 
Healthcare 411 is a news series produced by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. AHRQ’s mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. Using the latest podcasting technology, these weekly audio and video programs feature AHRQ’s latest research findings as news and informational stories on current health care topics.
Other Environmental Information
MOLD - EPA Link
Winter Wise Your Home - EPA Link
Indoor Air Quality - EPA Link
Indoor Air Asthma Triggers - EPA Link
Radon Information - http://www.idph.state.ia.us/Radon/AIR.aspx