National Public Health Week (NPHW) takes place April 1-7 this year, and this year’s theme is “Protecting, Connecting and Thriving: We Are All Public Health.”
Public health is more than just health care. It includes building communities free from pollution, with safe food and water and strong personal relationships.
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This year’s theme for National Public Health Week (NPHW) (April 3-9) is “Centering and Celebrating Cultures in Health.”
“DHEC works with our partners and communities across the state to overcome health disparities and realize the goal of every individual having the opportunity to achieve their full health potential,” said Dr. Edward Simmer, DHEC Director. “When we foster cultural connections in our community, our health and the quality of our lives are greatly improved.“
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During this National Public Health Week (April 3-9), divisions of the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health want to take a moment to highlight some programs as well as provide key information encouraging good health practices.
Division of Children’s Health: First Sound
First Sound is South Carolina’s early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) program. All babies delivered in birthing hospitals are screened for hearing loss before going home. Some babies will need further evaluation to confirm results.
It is very important that babies are screened and, if recommended, follow up with further testing. Hearing loss occurs in newborn infants more frequently than any other health condition for which screening is required. Hearing is extremely important for the development of speech and language skills. Early detection of hearing loss enables the infant to receive early intervention services to avoid developmental delays in speech and language. Age-appropriate language development is essential to success in school.
Women, Infants and Children program (WIC)
WIC is a special supplemental nutrition program that also provides breastfeeding information, support and assistance.
Division of Oral Health: A few brief messages dental health
Division of Women’s Health: Take precautions against Zika
The CDC recommends that pregnant women not travel to areas with Zika risk.
Division of Research and Planning: Safe sleep reminder for babies
A safe sleep environment can help reduce a baby’s risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related causes of infant death. This is a good reminder for parents, family members and other caregivers of any infant under one year of age. This 1-minute video shows the ABC‘s of how to create a safe sleep environment for baby – Alone, on his/her Back, in a Crib (or other safety approved sleep surface): https://youtu.be/Rs9Jw3uIoaU.
For more information
Visit the DHEC website for more information on the agency’s observance of National Public Health Week. You can also go to the official National Public Health Week website.
National Public Health Week (April 3-9) is a time to highlight the importance of public health, promote better health practices among residents — and, of course, celebrate those who work so hard in the field. Staff all across DHEC work to preserve and improve public health. That includes those in our environmental and environmental health programs.
DHEC’s environmental and environmental health programs provide many services that enhance and protect public health. They ensure that the following — and so much more — meet state regulatory requirements: the pools we swim in, the restaurants we eat in, the shippers that handle our shellfish, the landfills we take our trash to, the underground storage tanks that store our gasoline, the wastewater plants that treat our sewage, the drinking water plants that treat our water, the facilities that hold air permits, and the facilities that generate hazardous waste.
With offices located across the state, we are able to provide exceptional customer service, accountability, efficiency and response to regulated entities, local governments and members of the community. We issue permits, inspect, sample, monitor and analyze as well as investigate complaints. Our day-to-day duties include:
Visit the DHEC website for more information on the agency’s observance of National Public Health Week. You can also go to the official National Public Health Week website.
By Lilian Peake, MD
Director, Health Services
When we at the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) say that our vision is healthy people living in healthy communities, we aren’t feeding South Carolinians some feel-good line. We mean it.
Protecting and preserving the collective health of residents and the communities in which they live is at the heart of what we do as the state’s public health agency.
Ensuring the well-being of entire populations
Although doctors do the critical work of treating diseases and injuries one patient at a time, we at DHEC are charged with addressing disease and injury for the state’s population as a whole. Instead of treating the individual who suffers a heart attack, we analyze the links between heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. That information allows DHEC and partners across the state to develop programs to prevent and control heart disease.
That’s the essence of public health: ensuring the well-being of entire populations. These populations can be as small as a local neighborhood or as large as a region or the entire state. When health care providers report an infectious disease outbreak, we are there. When the need arises to plan and prepare for the potential of a new threat like Zika virus entering our state, we are there. When natural disasters arise — whether a damaging hurricane or a perilous flood — we are there.
Agency’s skilled workers help build public health system
DHEC employs many skilled professionals and experts who work tirelessly to help build and maintain a public health system capable of preventing and responding to the various emergencies and outbreaks that sometimes arise. The work of these public health and environmental control professionals covers a wide range of areas, including chronic disease, aging, safe drinking water, disaster response, tobacco control and so much more.
The agency investigates nearly 400 acute disease outbreaks and 55,000 disease reports a year; conducts more than 90,000 inspections covering a diverse range of programs; and has legal responsibilities that include more than 360 state or federal statutes, regulations and provisos.
Our team uses a multiplicity of methods to help prevent and respond to public health threats and reverse negative trends. Those methods include developing educational materials and programs, administering needed services and proposing policy changes. Our work includes efforts to make sure everyone has an opportunity for a healthy life.
Helping hundreds of thousands stay healthy
With DHEC locations in all 46 counties around the state, residents make numerous clinic visits each year, whether for TB therapy or a flu vaccine. Three programs in particular comprise the vast majority of visits to our clinics: the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, Preventive Health (family planning services and STD testing/treatment) and Immunization.
DHEC helps hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians stay healthy every year. In 2016, the agency:
Although we work year-round to educate and inform residents about a wide range of public health issues, this week — National Public Health Week (April 3-9) — gives us an opportunity to highlight the impact public health programs and services have on protecting and improving the well-being of all South Carolinians. We will spend this week celebrating the importance of public health and those who work in the field, while educating citizens about various health issues and how they can improve their quality of life.
It all feeds into our ultimate goal of ensuring that South Carolina remains a state where healthy people live in healthy communities.
Live Healthy S.C. 