National Public Health Week Celebrated April 4-10, 2022

By Diane Lee, Public Information Officer, Garrett County Health Department

The American Public Health Association (APHA) invites everyone to join them in celebrating National Public Health Week from April 4-10. This year’s theme is Public Health Is Where You Are, recognizing that where we are, physically, mentally, and societally, affects our health and our lives.

“Now more than ever, we embrace the fact that public health’s job is to help improve the health and safety of communities,” said Garrett County Health Officer Bob Stephens. “It takes all of us working together to continue to make strides to achieve this goal.”

“I am proud of those who work in public health in Garrett County,” Stephens said. “They work hard to continue to improve the health of our county.”

National Public Health Week is broken down into different topics for each day. The topics affect different parts of society, but we can each find ourselves in one or more of them.

Monday: Racism: A Public Health Crisis

Racial and economic inequities in health care, income, housing, education have widened during the COVID-19 pandemic, harming health and well-being. We need to address the public health crisis of racism and advance racial equity to improve health.

Tuesday: Public Health Workforce: Essential to our Future

The public health workforce is essential to our future. Support these professionals and strengthen the public health authority for better health outcomes in all of our communities, now and in the future.

Wednesday: Community: Collaboration and Resilience

We must work together to improve housing, education, food, transportation, and the environment to support equity, resilience, and the health of our communities and the people who live, work, play and learn there.

Thursday: World Health Day: Health is a Human Right

Celebrate World Health Day this National Public Health Week by supporting continued funding for U.S. global health efforts. We are all connected, as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown. Let’s work together to make the world a safer place for everyone.

Friday: Accessibility: Closing the Health Equity Gap

We can close the health equity gap by reducing health disparities in health insurance, increasing physical access to care, improving the availability of appropriate care, and building more inclusive public health programs and communities.

Saturday: Climate Change: Taking Action for Equity

While climate change hurts everyone, people of color and those with lower incomes experience greater health harm. APHA is at the forefront, calling for equity and investment in local solutions that meet community needs.

Sunday: Mental Wellness: Redefining the Meaning of Health

Each year, one in five Americans will experience mental illness. Mental health is public health. Prevention, early detection, and treatment of mental health conditions can lead to improved physical and community health.

There are many other areas of public health, but these are a few of the critical topics that can lead to the future success of creating a healthy nation.