Flu shot clinics remind us of the many helpful services provided by the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department.

It’s this time of the year that should remind us how fortunate we are to have the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department operated the way it is.

This is flu shot season. Each fall, thousands take advantage of the various clinics the Health Department, its professionals and countless volunteers make possible for county residents. The undertaking is complicated and its reach is vast. Yet the people from the department handle things so smoothly and pleasantly that they merit lots of praise. They organize and perform so impressively.

There occasionally are jam-ups. But always the health people do the best they can to get the flu shots dispersed effectively, as painlessly as possible from the standpoint of time and physical discomfort. Amazingly, they almost always do it with a smile or a pleasant word for the participants.

These people are surprising for the way they can adapt to prevent bottlenecks. Last Saturday, the flu shot clinic at the department quarters on Maine Street was billed as being operative from 10 to noon. But the people there realized there might be a rush; they started serving early-

comers as soon as 8:30 a.m. and prevented congestion, waiting and long lines.

It was a drab and damp and chilly day. The Health Department people didn’t want residents standing in long lines that might expose them to the bad weather. They started early and worked late. Many deeply appreciated such devotion.

Inevitably, there are volunteers who get nothing in the way of pay but simply handle jobs because they think they are needed and that their services can help. Many a nurse, for example, comes out of retirement to help. They relish seeing old friends and former patients, and the residents enjoy being helped by people they know and in whom they have confidence. At best, immunizations are generally no fun. But the local health people make them as close to that as possible. The social climate is invariably warm and friendly.

The Health Department performs numerous important services through the year, often without fanfare or attention. The flu shot clinics are just one of the many benefits it provides to the community.

But the fall clinics are visible enough and touch enough people that they serve to remind many just how effective, efficient and caring the health department and its people are.

The community is fortunate to have that kind of operation.