From the desk of the Health Commissioner…

 What is Public Health?

The mission of public health is to protect, promote and maintain the health of the entire community. Many of our duties at the Health Department are health issues we face on a daily basis — such as ensuring the safety of food at local restaurants or protecting the local drinking water. We also have a role in areas like preparing for emergencies and disasters, preventing the spread of disease, preventing injuries and monitoring illnesses, such as an outbreak of an infectious disease. Our focus is on prevention, while other health professionals focus on care for those already sick. 

Public health is dedicated to improving health through various community activities. In order to best protect your health, our Health Department fulfills many functions including: 

• Assessing the needs of our community
• Developing and putting health education programs into action
• Provide health services such as vaccinations
• Developing policies and regulations that impact health such as sewage regulations
• Conducting research on different health topics such as childhood obesity 

Public health has had an impact on increasing life expectancy and decreasing infant and childhood mortality. Many of the important contributions of public health in improving our community health include: 

• Child Passenger Safety
• Control of disease
• Family planning and contraception
• Improving health of mothers and babies
• Safer and healthier foods
• Safer workplaces
• Vaccinations 

The staff at the Cambridge-Guernsey County Health Department is here to serve the needs of our county. 

Sincerely,