For Immediate Release:
April 6, 2006

Contact:
Brian Quinn
Office of Public Information
573-751-6062

It's All About Health
Role of Public Health Emphasized, Celebrated During First Week of April

To recognize the vital role public health plays in protecting the health and wellbeing of every person in our state and nation, Governor Matt Blunt has proclaimed April 3-9 Public Health Week in Missouri. The theme of this year's week is “Designing Healthy Communities, Raising Healthy Kids”.

This year's emphasis on public health carries a special significance, according to Julie Eckstein, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). “The world's attention has been fixed on the increasing activity surrounding avian influenza (bird flu) and the mounting concern over the threat of pandemic influenza over the past several months,” Eckstein said. “Though they may not realize it, when people read or hear about the massive efforts to track and slow the spread of avian influenza around the world, they are seeing public health in action. Public Health Week is a time to highlight and even celebrate the huge part public health plays in making everyone's lives better,” she said.

Eckstein added, “One of my work mantras is ‘it's all about health', and it's that reality that drives what the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services does every day. Nearly everything is affected by our health and few things can be achieved without good public health. Public health works every single day locally, throughout the state, across the nation and around the world to make sure people are as healthy and well as they can be. Public Health Week is a perfect time to bring that to light.”

Eckstein noted that the work public health is doing to address avian influenza and plan for a potential influenza pandemic is just a large, highlighted example of what the local and state public health community does every day to detect, track, control or prevent disease in Missouri communities.

She said that of the increased 30 years in life expectancy gained this century in the United States, 25 years are attributed to public health – through sanitation improvement, food handling and storage, universal vaccinations, and improved tracking and control of communicable diseases. Five years are attributable to improved health care.

“We are celebrating Public Health Week to emphasize that public health touches each one of our lives every day,” Eckstein said. “As I always say, it's all about health.”

Below are a few examples of how public health improves the lives of Missourians:

• Making sure children get their vaccines
• Controlling communicable diseases
• Working with communities to improve their health
• Making sure pregnant women receive prenatal care
• Ensuring that child care centers are healthy places for our children
• Promoting healthy lifestyles
• Making sure our food is safe
• Educating food service workers and inspecting restaurants
• Investigating complaints about environmental problems
• Helping minority communities improve their health
• Helping communities prevent tooth decay through water fluoridation
• Working with communities to prevent lead poisoning
• Inspecting and licensing health care and long-term care facilities
• Providing nutritious food to improve the health of women, infants and children
• Providing breast and cervical cancer screenings to eligible women