Each year, National Public Health Week provides a chance to celebrate and reflect on the outstanding service of public health workers and their contributions to keeping our communities safe and healthy. Public Health Week is April 3-9, and after more than 24 months of local COVID-19 response, the magnitude of this year’s recognition is unique.
San Juan Basin Public Health empathizes with everyone in our communities and around the globe who has lost a loved one or had their health or livelihood hurt by the virus. We grieve the loss of thousands of Coloradans to COVID-19. Amid this somber backdrop, our increasing vaccination rate is one of many signals that better days lie ahead.
Other silver linings abound. We have built public health capacity through the growth of our local Medical Reserve Corps, from a few dozen to more than 700 of our friends and neighbors signing up to volunteer during public health emergencies. More than ever, we all have a role to play in public health, and so this week we celebrate these volunteers in addition to the dedicated public servants at SJBPH – and all of you who have worked so hard to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the community. We’ve learned over the past year that we are all more connected than we think, and each person who has chosen to wear a mask, get tested, receive the vaccine or cut down on activities that spread infection also deserves recognition this year.
As we show gratitude for these contributions, Public Health Week is an opportunity to look ahead and highlight a topic that COVID-19 revealed to all over the past two years: inequitable outcomes in public health. The theme of Public Health Week this year feels particularly fitting: “Building Bridges to Public Health Equity.” Put simply, public health has long sought to address equity differences in people’s health and environment based on social factors like race, ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, language and technology skills, income and location. We’ve seen these disparities in stark terms over the past year as the pandemic has disproportionately harmed communities of color and low-income and immigrant communities.
The good news is that we can reduce these disparities by working together. At SJBPH, we are trained to focus on the health of the community while recognizing there is a direct relationship between population health and individual health. COVID-19 has shown us, now more than ever, that prevention and community health are the best medicine. Rather than wait until people are sick or injured to begin treating them, public health aims to both improve our lives and save us money – by preventing illness and injury in the first place. These programs include maternal health and nutrition; early childhood development, safety and healthy eating; developmental assets for children and teens to prevent substance use disorder or suicide; clinical care for priority populations including specialty care for children, cancer screenings, HIV/STI screenings and prevention; assistance accessing health insurance and health care with patient navigators and care coordinators; consumer protection services including safe restaurants and healthy households; and protecting our air and water quality. SJBPH’s ongoing work in these areas is more important than ever, and we invite the public to learn more about our services and programs available to the public on our website: sjbpublichealth.org.
While working hard in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, SJBPH staff members have not lost sight of important services for our community. We have focused on health equity throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so with even greater focus in the months and years to come – because we are committed to serving and improving public health this week and every week. This week, please join the whole public health community in building a bridge to a healthier, more resilient and equitable future, while we work every day to improve our communities’ health.
Megan Graham is communications director for San Juan Basin Public Health. Reach her at mgraham@sjbpublichealth.org.
