The Grant County Health Department is more than a place to get a vaccine. There are nurses checking blood pressure, staff helping families with WIC (Women, Infants, and Children Program), car-seat technicians making sure little ones are buckled in safely, and breastfeeding counselors helping new mothers.
Denise James, RHIT, administrator of the Grant County Health Department, was more than eager to chat and show me around. She summed up the mission of the Health Department: “We’re here to help you find what you need, the services you can afford, and what we can do to work with you to make things better.”
James has spent years working in health care, including more than two decades in a hospital setting. Her work at the Health Department has given her a different perspective on caring for people.
“Public health is preventative,” she said. “We’re more on keeping you healthy and being preventive so that you don’t have issues in the future.”
“If you want to get your blood pressure checked, that’s free,” James explained. “You can come in and say, ‘I think I got a spider bite.’ The nurse will look at it and tell you what she thinks.”
One of the department’s most familiar services is immunization. They offer vaccines for children and adults, and work with state programs to help make vaccinations accessible to residents who are uninsured or underinsured.
For children under 19, the department participates in the Vaccines for Children program. Adults who are uninsured or underinsured may qualify for vaccines through the state’s 317 program.
The department also offers routine health screenings, KAN Be Healthy screenings, TB services, STI and HIV testing, family planning and laboratory testing.
Through a partnership with Labcorp, residents can have laboratory tests done locally rather than traveling elsewhere. The department can bill insurance or provide cash-pay options for applicable tests.
James emphasizes that keeping these services available locally is important.
“We work hard to see what we can get for other grants and money, whether it be federal, state or local grants, to pay for things to help reduce the cost to the public, the county, and the community,” she said.
One of the newer services is mobile mammography.
Since November 2025, the Health Department has helped coordinate visits from Via Christi’s 3D mobile mammography unit. Instead of residents having to make a trip to Wichita or another larger community, the screening unit comes to Ulysses.
“If you’re taking off work, an hour there, an hour back, and however long it takes,” James said. “That’s a half a day of work and some people can’t afford that.”
Insurance and grant programs can also help make mammograms available to residents who might otherwise struggle to pay for them. The department works with programs including Early Detection Works and Women of Purpose.
The department is also a drop-off site for the Oklahoma Mother’s Milk Bank.
Mothers who have extra breast milk can go through the screening process to become donors. Once approved, they can bring their milk to the Health Department, where it is stored in a freezer before being shipped overnight to Oklahoma City.
One recent donor gave about 902 ounces.
The milk eventually goes to babies who need it, including babies whose mothers cannot provide enough milk themselves.
The department’s breastfeeding counselors also work with WIC families, helping mothers who want to breastfeed navigate the challenges of their first weeks.
“Your first one can be very hard,” James said. “You’re not comfortable. The baby’s trying to figure things out.”
Sometimes, she said, a little encouragement can make all the difference.
Some of the Health Department’s services are not things residents would immediately associate with public health.
The department offers Healthy Feet Matter toenail-clipping services for people who have difficulty caring for their feet themselves.
“It’s not a pedicure,” James said with a laugh. “But If we see something wrong with your toe that you’re not going to see, then we’re going to make sure you get where you need to be.”
There are two certified child passenger safety technicians on staff who can check car seats and help parents make sure they are installed correctly.
A car-seat appointment can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Technicians look at the seat’s expiration date and serial number, check the instructions and installation, and make sure the seat is appropriate for the child.
The department can also help qualifying families obtain car seats through available state and Women of Purpose funding.
With the senior food program, residents age 60 and older who meet income requirements can receive food supplied through the Kansas Food Bank.
Still, the program is about more than putting a box of food into someone’s hands. Staff often carry the boxes out to people’s cars, talk with them, and check in. This personal connection, in particular, is important to James, and it is one of her favorite parts of the job.
“I love public health,” she said. “You’re helping somebody. You have something good every day.”
The Health Department does not work by itself. Staff members participate in emergency preparedness efforts and work with other organizations, volunteers, and local agencies when the community needs help. They have participated in shelter training through the American Red Cross and work alongside emergency management, fire, and EMS.
“You cannot do anything without volunteers,” James said. “We’re community strong, and we have to work together. More hands make the work lighter.”
The same community-centered philosophy carries into the department’s everyday work.
A resident may come in looking for one thing and end up being connected with a completely different resource. Staff may not have every answer, but they can often help find the person or organization that does.
“There’s always something that I didn’t know about,” James said. “There are lots of things. Somebody always knows something that’s going to get you where you need to be.”
The Health Department’s seven staff members, including Denise James, Anne Schmidt, Diana Guillen, Ruth Edwards, Rosalinda Rivas, Tracy Torres, and Paris Williams, cover a wide range of services.
For those concerned about cost or privacy, some services can be paid for up front at a lower cost than going through insurance, and James emphasized that patients’ information is kept private. Making the department’s services accessible to the community is part of what James sees as their role in public health.
As James encapsulates it, “we’re interconnecting with the community and trying to make things better for everyone.”
The Grant County Health Department is located at 202 W. Kansas Avenue in Ulysses and can be reached at 620-356-1545.
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