WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — A Fayette County Public Health employee who helps new mothers learn to breastfeed and connects families with nutrition resources is marking 10 years with the agency.
Janessa Williamson, a registered nurse, serves as the agency’s health educator and WIC breastfeeding coordinator, the health department said in a Facebook post. The agency said it was recognizing her service a few months after her actual anniversary date.
Williamson’s work centers on the county’s Women, Infants and Children program, known as WIC, which provides nutrition education and supplemental food assistance to pregnant women, new mothers, infants and children up to age 4. As breastfeeding coordinator, she oversees the program’s peer helper effort, which pairs mothers who have breastfed through WIC with current participants for mother-to-mother support during pregnancy and after delivery.
As health educator, Williamson also has a hand in the broader public outreach the health department runs to inform residents about nutrition, disease prevention and other services offered by the agency, which lists immunizations, reproductive health, communicable disease response, school nursing, environmental health and emergency preparedness among its programs.
Fayette County Public Health describes its mission as protecting the community with an emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention. The agency is led by Health Commissioner Leigh N. Cannon and Medical Director Dr. Jim McWeeney, under a governing board chaired by Dr. Brian Jenks.
“We’re glad you’re part of the FCPH team,” the health department said of Williamson in its post marking the milestone.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Fayette County Public Health.
