February 2024

Community Conversations: Health needs dependent on community engagement

When Darcie Van Der Vyver, RN and Administrator of the Pratt County Health Department, joined Tri-County Tribune Editor Jennifer Stultz for a special “Community Conversation” about meeting needs in Pratt, she had a very important request.“We would like any Pratt County resident or anyone who seeks health care in Pratt County to fill it out our health care needs survey,” she said.

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How free-roaming cats impact wildlife, disease transmission

Cats are hunters by nature, which is why it’s not uncommon for an outdoor cat to bring home a “gift,” left on their owner’s doorstep.Yet Molly Guyette, a third-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and veterinary public health & epidemiology master’s student at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS), says cats put both themselves and local wildlife at risk of injury or illness when they hunt other animals.“Outdoor cats may only bring home a mouse or bird once every few months, but this is likely a very small reflection of what they are actually up to,” explained Guyette, who studies cats and zoonotic diseases, with links to wildlife health, for her master’s research under the mentorship of VMBS professor Dr.

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