Before volunteering to work for or become a member of your local board of health, you should consider some of the primary functions of local boards of health. The government usually has a state department of health that is responsible for more things and local boards that are responsible for enforcing laws at the local level and helping citizens within the community.
Enforcement of Health and Safety Laws
The Network for Public Health Law states that one of the main functions of local boards of health is the enforcement of health and safety laws. These laws may include preventing companies from dumping illegal chemicals in the town’s water supply, ensuring that the department of transportation puts up signs at potentially dangerous intersections and investigating malpractice claims made against a doctor working in a local hospital.
Checking on Dangerous Animals
Though animal control is usually responsible for checking on dangerous animals within a community, it may also fall on the hands of those working for the local board of health. A wild animal may have rabies or another potentially harmful disease that it can transmit to humans. The board of health may demand that the owner take the pet to a veterinarian for treatment or lose custody of the animal. This board may also be responsible for running tests on wild animals that animal control put down to ensure that those animals were free from dangerous diseases and infections.
Medical Programs
Many of the primary functions of local boards of health relate to the special medical programs that these boards run every year. The board in your area might work with medical facilities to offer free or reduced price flu shots and shingles vaccines to elderly people and those who fall below the poverty line. It may host special lectures and programs that go to local colleges and high schools to talk with kids about the dangerous of unprotected sex. The local board of health can also create programs to inform residents about diseases spreading around the community, including those transmitted by children who did not receive vaccines.
Public Health Emergencies
A good example of a public health emergency is the toxic water supply that occurred in Flint, Michigan. The water had such high levels of toxins that residents could not drink from their faucets or even shower in their own bathrooms. The local board of health in Flint was responsible for testing the water, alerting locals and finding possible solutions to the water problem. The board of health in your own city or county is responsible for handling and finding solutions to public health emergencies that occur in your community.
Public Health Challenge Response
While there are many functions of local boards of health, one of the most important is that these departments are responsible for issuing responses in the face of public health challenges. A challenge might include an outbreak of herpes in a local high school or a sudden rise in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in a specific neighborhood. The board will often do research to determine what caused the challenge and then decide what to do about it. Members might host seminars, town hall meetings or lectures to help locals learn of these issues.
The members serving on your local board of health might work as nurses or doctors or come from public health backgrounds. They are responsible for the health and safety of every resident living in your area. Some of the functions of local boards of health include responding to public health situations and enforcing local safety and health laws in the community.
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