Have you ever swum in a public pool without getting sick, worn a seatbelt or lived your whole life without contracting diseases, such as measles, smallpox or polio? If so, then you can thank public health.
Public health is the field focused on protecting and improving the health of populations by preventing disease, promoting healthy behaviors and creating conditions that allow people to live longer, healthier lives.
While hospitals and clinics tend to focus on treating individuals who are already sick, public health works more broadly to prevent groups of people from becoming sick in the first place.
Whether it’s planning action steps to address Iowa’s cancer crisis or meeting the needs of our older adult population, public health wants to improve everyone’s quality of life.
National Public Health Week, which runs from April 6-12, highlights the important, often unnoticed work that public health organizations do to keep us safe and healthy. Here in our county, the Dallas County Health Department offers many services including:
• Health Navigation, a free program that helps connect Dallas County residents to any community resource that meets their needs
• Environmental health, which inspects septic systems, private wells, public pools, tattoo facilities and more
• Communicable disease management, including vaccines, immunization audits, and disease investigation
• Community health, which conducts Community Health Assessments and Community Health Improvement Plans and offers health education programs
• Emergency preparedness through drills, trainings and education
The health department is also offering two no-cost trainings during National Public Health Week. The first is a Narcan training on Friday, April 10 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Dallas County Administration Building at 800 Court St. in Adel. Participants will learn how to administer Naloxone in cases of opioid overdose. Registration is not required.
There will also be a hands-only CPR and AED training at the Perry Public Library. While registration is already full for this specific event due to limited capacity, you can still join the waitlist to be contacted directly once we have the next training scheduled.
To follow along with the Dallas County Health Department’s efforts, follow us on Facebook or Instagram at @DallasCoHealth.
Natalie Del Vecchio is the community health educator in the Dallas County Public Health Department.