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Montgomery County Recognizes National Public Health Week April 5 – 11

For Immediate Release: Monday, April 5, 2021

Montgomery County Recognizes National Public Health Week

April 5 – 11

For Immediate Release: Monday, April 5, 2021

Montgomery County will commemorate National Public Health Week (NPHW) April 5 – 11 with a series of social media posts based on this year’s theme, Building Bridges to Better Health. The County Council will present a proclamation recognizing NPHW on Tuesday, April 6 at 9 a.m.

The County’s Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Twitter and Facebook platforms will include daily messages corresponding to the daily public health themes:

  • Rebuilding
  • Advancing Racial Equity
  • Strengthening Community
  • Galvanizing Climate Justice
  • Constructing COVID-19 Resilience
  • Uplifting Mental Health and Wellness
  • Elevating the Essential and Health Workforce

“For the last year, I have witnessed the incredible work and dedication of our public health staff and the much-needed assistance they have provided to our residents during these very difficult times,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “I think that we all have learned how vital the health department is to our community, and National Public Health Week is our time to recognize and thank the people who have worked tirelessly to protect our quality of life and make Montgomery County a healthier place for all.”

Public health promotes and protects the health of people and the communities where they live, learn, work and play. Public health services’ programs, part of DHHS, monitor health status and implement intervention strategies to contain or prevent disease (including bio-terrorism and emerging diseases); foster public-private partnerships, which increase access to health services; develop and implement programs and strategies to address health needs; provide individual- and community-level health education; evaluate the effectiveness of public health programs and strategies; license and inspect facilities and institutions affecting public health and safety; and monitor, assess and communicate community population health data and information via Healthy Montgomery, the  County’s community health improvement effort.

In the past year, the County’s public health services:

  • Received national accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). The PHAB accreditation program, jointly supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, sets standards against which the nation’s nearly 3,000 public health departments can continuously improve the quality of services and performance.

  • Provided more than 500,000 COVID-19 vaccinations. As of April 2, records indicate 341,758 residents have received the first dose of vaccine and 185,768 have been fully vaccinated.

  • Created and shared a detailed 10-year Plan to End HIV in Montgomery County. The plan, with a goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030, addresses the expansion of four key HIV response service areas: diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and response to outbreaks. The plan came out of the County’s designation as a priority jurisdiction for the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative.

“Unlike any time in recent history, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the work of public health professionals here and across the world,” said Dr. Travis Gayles, County health officer and chief of public health services. “It has also shed light on the ongoing issues of health equity, which is a fundamental right, not a privilege.  The most effective way to prevent the spread of disease is through public health measures. The greatest wealth one can attain is their health and well-being. The biggest threat to public health is indifference and the greatest medicine is comprised of compassion.”

NPHW is sponsored by the American Public Health Association (APHA), the national membership and advocacy organization for public health.  Read more about NPHW on the association’s website.

Follow DHHS on Twitter @MoCoDHHS and on Facebook.  Follow NPHW and Healthy Montgomery on Twitter. Watch the County Council proclamation live at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/OnDemand/index.html/

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Release ID: 21-215
Media Contact: Mary Anderson 240-777-6507