In every community, there exists a local health department. The health department has multiple roles in the community including environmental duties, vaccines, leadership in emergency health situations, treatment for communicable diseases as well as other health functions for citizens in the area. Public health is very important in the community for so many purposes and without it the health of the community could be greatly affected.
Roles of Community Health
Community Health encompasses many different programs directly related to the local population. For instance, the Environmental Health section of Community Health is responsible for environmental health concerns such as restaurant cleanliness, septic and other waste concerns as well as pollution and other health hazards in the community.
In another section of Community Health, there are infectious disease specialists to track and treat people in the community who have contracted such diseases. They are also responsible for tracking down potential contacts to treat them before a disease spreads locally. Examples of such infectious diseases include sexually transmitted diseases such as Chlamydia, Tuberculosis, HIV and Syphilis. Without these problems being identified in the community, an outbreak of a communicable disease is very possible. All doctors’ offices and other health facilities report directly to the Community Health Department and the Community Health officials are responsible for follow up with the clients. Low cost services such as women’s health exams and vaccines are also available for community residents. The Community Health Department also works hand and hand with schools to ensure children are properly vaccinated to prevent outbreaks of vaccine preventable illnesses and diseases. More information about Public Health and its many services may be found at http://www.naccho.org/topics/HPDP/.
Importance of Community Health in Local Populations
There will always be a need for Community Health as long as communities exist. From the previous paragraph, you can see that Community Health wears many hats in the local area. It also is responsible for the increase of life expectancy because it provides great health services to the local people. At times, this is the only way that citizens can get services because of money and if Community Health did not exist, many people would have suffer from cancer or other illnesses that can be detected by exams. Details about the financial benefit of Community Health can be found here.
How to Get Community Health Services
Getting services is relatively simple once you determine the location of your local Health Department. Some programs accept walk ins while others require an appointment. The local resident can simply contact them for specific information about your local center. Family planning, STD and vaccines are often income based programs and the health department cannot turn you away due to inability to pay. Being a member of a community gives you the right to these health services regardless of income, race or gender.
Without the Community Health Department, many citizens would have a diminished quality of life. This is especially true for residents who have poverty level incomes. Public Health protects everyone the same in the community.
