SCHD Celebrates National Public Health Week (NPHW)

30 Years of National Public Health Week (NPHW) Logo

Each April, the American Public Health Association (APHA) spends a week honoring the essential work of public health professionals. The celebration is called National Public Health Week (NPHW) and focuses on public health’s efforts to improve the health and well-being of people and communities. This year NPHW takes place from April 7-13 and the theme is, “It Starts Here.” As noted recently in The Nation’s Health, the online publication from the APHA, “Clean air, clean water, safe food, safe streets, health equity for all—it all starts with public health.” In addition to the overall theme, several key priority areas have been identified, including:

  • Climate Action Starts Here: Championing Resilience for Health
  • Health Equity Starts Here: Optimizing Health for All
  • Advocacy Starts Here: Amplifying Voices for Public Health
  • The Future of Public Health Starts Here: Strengthening the Public Health Workforce
     

To help ensure that everyone can thrive, public health work must take place at the individual, community/neighborhood, city/state, and national levels. The work at SCHD reflects this commitment to a multi-faceted approach. Examples of work that staff do on any given day at each level include:

Individual/Family

  • Vaccine clinics
  • Sexual health screenings
  • Connecting people to healthcare providers
  • Applying for emergency health insurance
  • Private water well permits
     

Community/Neighborhood

  • Community meetings and events
  • Tobacco and nicotine-free housing policies
  • Workplace wellness
  • Healthy childcare
  • Non-public school health
     

City/State

  • Restaurant, pool, tattoo, and tanning inspections
  • Health code enforcement
  • Correctional health
  • Emergency preparedness
  • Walkability/bikeability audits
     

National

  • Sharing local data to help inform national policy
  • Collaborating with national health agencies (i.e., CDC)
  • Monitoring local public health during national emergencies (i.e., COVID-19)
  • Furthering the reach of national public health messaging by sharing it on local social media
     

And much more!

Visit https://nphw.org/ to learn about how you can join the NPHW celebration.

Health Department