Environmental Health Services

Bonnie Deakins, Director
Beth McDonald, Principal Secretary
Main line: (423) 209-8110 

• Rabies Control
• Food & General Sanitation
• The department participates in emergency preparedness and planning for the Health Department
• We provide educational information to the public about various environmental issues such pollution and hazardous chemicals
• Some staff members work with DART (Hamilton County Disaster Animal Response Team) to respond to emergencies that negatively affect animals

Food & General Sanitation (423) 209-8110
Program Manager for Food & General Sanitation, Lowe Wilkins. Johnnie McElvain, Food Program Secretary. Environmentalists who conduct inspections for the Food Program are Jack Falcon, Elizabeth McDaniel, Josh Eller, Ryan Brown, Robert Dafoe, and Lowe Wilkins. 

Inspections are conducted on food establishments, hotels/motels, public swimming pools, day cares, day camps, and tattoo establishments. General sanitation complaints (garbage, open dumps, high grass) are investigated by inspectors in this program. If necessary, the inspector sends a notice to the owner or consults with the owner to abate the problem. Any severe health or safety hazards that are not addressed by the owner will be referred Health and Safety Board Officer, Walter Johnson.  

Rabies Program (423) 209-8110
Melissa Gannon is the secretary, Leah Sergeant and Eugene Remson are the environmentalists for the Rabies Program. The Health Department is responsible for rabies control in Hamilton County. Any animal bites (domestic animals or wildlife) should be reported to the Environmental Health Office as soon as possible. Local emergency rooms and physician’s offices should send bite reports via fax or by calling the office.

Air Quality and Chemical Hazards
The Health Department provides information to the public about indoor and outdoor air pollution problems such as mold, radon, ozone, and particulates.
The office also provides information about hazardous chemicals.
For more information call (423) 209-8390