Oakland County Health Division is celebrating National Public Health Week (NPHW) April 4 -10, 2022. This annual event calls attention to public health programs and services, promotes prevention, and inspires healthy living. This week is also a time to thank Oakland County‘s dedicated public health staff, especially after the past two years of providing a robust response to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s NPHW theme, ‘Public Health Is Where You Are,’ provides an opportunity to showcase how the public health staff works to help make communities healthier, stronger, and safer. A person’s health status can differ greatly by zip code due to things such as environmental quality, access to healthy food, education, and health care. It is the Health Division’s goal to promote and support a safe, clean, and equitable environment to make it easier for everyone to make healthier choices, so they can live a safe and healthy life.
Oakland County Health Division offers over 40 programs and services to Oakland County residents and visitors.
Promoting Healthy Lifestyles
Public Health Nurses in the Community Nursing program visit parents, families, and vulnerable people at their homes in Oakland County. More than 35 nurses work in the community, focused on disease prevention and health promotion services, such as in the Nurse Family Partnership and Nurturing Parent Programs.
Registered Dietitians (RDs) in the Nutrition Program provide home and virtual visits with parents, infants, and children in Oakland County. The RD helps families who are nutritionally at-risk, access education, resources, and skills to meet their nutrition goals.
Oakland County Health Division convenes 10 partnerships that consist of community partners and residents. These partnerships come together on a regular basis and tackle issues like access to healthy food, safe walking and biking routes, suicide prevention, keeping moms and babies healthy, and much more! They also link residents to the county’s amazing Farmers Market and local parks right here in Oakland County, which are a low-cost option for fresh food and exercise.
Protecting the Environment
When people think of Environmental Health (EH) at a local health department, they often think of licensing and inspecting restaurants. This is just one of the many things the EH Unit does to promote environmentally sound practices.
EH staff also monitor public beaches and test the water to prevent contact with harmful bacteria such as E.Coli. EH provides indoor air services including lead, radon, and asbestos to residents. Mosquito surveillance is done every year to detect vector-borne disease like West Nile Virus in our communities to keep residents informed of any risk that might exist.
Preventing Disease
Over the last two years, COVID-19 has shed light on the importance of preventing diseases. The Health Division’s epidemiologists and communicable disease nurses do a great job tracking and monitoring illness and disease in the community to prevent it from spreading.
If you need a TB skin test to start a new job, or need to catch up on routine vaccinations, the clinic is here to help you. Oakland County Health Division offers testing for sexually transmitted infections, immunizations, and TB skin testing at both of their offices in Pontiac and Southfield. They offer appointments and walk-ins.
Connecting People to Services
While our Health Division offers many services, we cannot do this alone. The Health Division’s partnerships are crucial in connecting residents to other services and programs in the community. Often times, people just don’t know about them. It is the Health Division’s job to help remove barriers that prevent people from living healthy lives. One way they are doing this is working to make the Health Division a one stop shop for services.
They expanded clinic services by launching Health360 partnership that provides both health care and wraparound services for residents. The division has also built offices right in their Pontiac and Southfield locations where Honor Community Health is providing primary care services on site. They are also partnering with Oakland Livingston Human Services Agency (OLHSA) and Gary Burnstein Community Health Clinic to connect clients to their services.
Honoring our Public Health Workforce
Public health often works in the background to improve access to care, prevent disease, and promote healthy lifestyles. As the last two years have proven, public health is crucial to the health and safety of our community.
This week, Oakland County would like to honor our dedicated public health employees, including their support and clerical staff, without whom, the Health Division’s work would not be possible.
Join the conversation this week on Oakland County Health Division’s Facebook and Twitter as the work of the public health team is highlighted.
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