Compassion, empathy, fairness, and respect—these are the core values that public health workers exhibit as they serve their clients and patients. Their everyday efforts and their work in challenging times are too often taken for granted. Each year, the Monday before Thanksgiving is designated nationally as Public Health Thank You Day. In the spirit of the season, this is a time to recognize public health professionals who work tirelessly to protect everyone’s health.
Recently, I heard about a small example of gratitude expressed by an older woman for a public health nurse. The woman had suffered a fall at a local restaurant and was inquiring about how to contact an employee who had helped her. Through the woman’s neighbor, the injured woman was able to identify the public health nurse who stayed with her after her fall, assessed the woman’s facial injury, and convinced her to call for an ambulance to do further assessment. When contacted, the nurse wanted to follow up and was pleased to learn that the woman was recuperating. The bruised but healing woman said many others in the restaurant saw this incident, but they left soon afterward. The public health nurse chose to stay to make sure the injured woman was all right until the ambulance arrived.
This is just one of countless and largely untold stories of the public health employees with servants’ hearts who help others in their times of need. These include a home health aide who saved a patient from a fire and a nurse who identified potentially fatal health problems that might have been missed in a weeks-old infant and saw to it that the child received medical care. Other grateful patients have received a diagnosis of previously undetected breast and cervical cancer and diabetes through public health.
I invite you to thank public health professionals for their dedication to protecting and improving health in our state. You can also recognize their efforts to keep communities healthy, safe, and free of disease.
One example of effective public health is the provision of immunizations. Many people have forgotten (or never knew) how serious vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles can be. Other infectious diseases prevented by immunization include polio, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b, hepatitis B, chickenpox, and mumps. There is solid science confirming that recommended immunizations reduce disease, disability, and death.
Public health personnel administer vaccines in clinics and in scheduled drive-through locations. During the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many worked long hours on the front lines. At county health departments, registered nurses and nurse practitioners provide clinical nursing services with the support of licensed practical nurses and nursing assistants. The varied services they offer include family planning, vaccinations, and communicable disease screening and treatment. Disease intervention specialists provide confidential testing, treatment, counseling, and partner referrals.
Communities are kept safe by ensuring safe food handling practices that prevent foodborne illness, thanks to public health environmentalists who educate workers and inspect food service establishments. Improvements in sanitation have saved lives by reducing the spread of waterborne diseases. Employees investigate vectors of human disease such as mosquitoes and ticks. Public health laboratorians provide quality laboratory results for Alabama citizens.
Home health professionals visit vulnerable patients in their homes and offer pediatric home health care in Alabama. The WIC Program helps women, infants, and children throughout the state access nutrition education and nutritious foods. Social workers promote positive health outcomes. Other employees provide vital services such as performing licensure and certification facility inspections and operating the vital records system. Health educators and others work to prevent injury and promote healthy lifestyles.
I have named only a few highlights of the typical services our workforce provides. Public Health Thank You Day is an opportunity to express gratitude and show support to our staff statewide. On November 25, I plan to give special thanks to public health employees who promote and protect the public, and I hope you will do the same.
Scott Harris, M.D., M.P.H.
State Health Officer