Transcript No Slide Title

Part II
Participants in Public Health
Official and Voluntary
Public Health Sectors
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Official agencies assigned specific
responsibilities for a geo-political unit or
programmatic area
Private not-for-profit voluntary agencies
with commitment to a particular issue or
population
Public and private providers of personal
care
Federal Public Health Agencies
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The US has no Cabinet Secretary of
Health, unlike most other countries
Almost every federal agency has some
responsibility that impacts the health of
the public
Federal Agencies
Continued
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Environmental Protection Agency
US Department of Agriculture
Department of Labor - Occupational
Safety and Health Administration
Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Transportation
Federal Agencies
Continued
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Department of Defense
Housing and Urban Development
White House
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Office of Management & Budget
Office of Drug Control Policy
Office of AIDS Policy
State Public Health Agencies
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State public health agency (dept of
health, dept of public health)
Umbrella human services agency
Agency on aging (often includes long
term care planning/licensing)
Medicaid
Mental health agency
State Agencies
Continued
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Substance abuse agency
Environment (water, air, soil quality;
waste disposal)
Agriculture (food, dairy, pesticides)
State-OSHA
Health planning agency
Health professions licensing bodies
Did you know that . . .
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South Carolina’s first public health
employee was Dr. Fred Williams, in
1908?
The Department of Health and
Environmental Control was created in
1973?
Local and Community
Public Health
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County, city or district health departments
County, city or district mental health,
substance abuse or environmental agency
Special taxing districts for public hospitals,
home health, environmental control or
public health
Local zoning authority
Did you know that . . .
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Orangeburg and Greenwood counties
established the first county health
departments in the state, in 1915, to
combat hookworm?
Every county had a health department
by 1936?
County health staff were transferred to
the state payroll in 1981?
Voluntary Associations
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Disease- or issue-specific organizations
Advocacy groups
Professional and industrial
organizations
Coalitions with health as only or major
topic
Hospitals and Other
Care Systems
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Access to care is an essential public
health service
Health-department-operated hospital,
personal care program, or strong
relationship with the local provider
systems
Other Care Systems
Continued
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The structure of public health services
varies over time and place depending
on size and composition of uninsured
population and economics and attitudes
of care systems
Care systems may join populationfocused activities for a variety of
reasons
Discussion Time
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Identify the components of the public
health system serving your community
Be sure to include non-governmental
participants
Summary of Module 1, Part 2
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US public health services may be
comprised of federal, state and local
governmental agencies, not-for-profit
organizations, hospitals and other
health care providers, and voluntary
associations
The exact structure of the system varies
by issue and over time
Module Author
Kristine M. Gebbie, DrPH, RN
Columbia University School of Nursing
Center for Health Policy