St. Croix County Public Health is ROI-save lives, save money
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National Public Health Week (NPHW) is April 1-7, 2013. Each year NPHW has a different theme and is observed with different events, but there are always two common threads-Public Health and prevention.
Much like the business world, ROI indicates return on investments. In the world of public health, ROI is much different. Oftentimes public health ROI refers to avoided medical spending due to investments in prevention and early disease detection. However public health ROI should also be measured in the number of lives saved and the amount of productivity gained due to investing in public health and prevention. Supporting evidence based public health programs will result in a healthier community and decrease the cost of treating diseases.
Deb Lindemann, new Health Officer for St Croix County states “I am very excited to be working in public health again where the focus is on the value of prevention. Well-supported public health systems are important in preventing disease, saving lives and limiting healthcare spending”.
It is estimated that investing $10 per person each year in community public health activities could save more than $16 billion within five years. By adequately supporting public health and prevention, we can transform a health system that is now focused on treating illness to one focused on preventing disease and promoting wellness. And we all have a role to play. By taking small actions, we can help our community, friends and families see the much larger benefit of prevention.
Make just one positive change a day to improve your health. Small things such as eating healthy foods, engaging in regular physical activity, avoiding tobacco and staying up to date on recommended vaccinations can make a big difference in helping you live a longer, healthier life.
The daily themes for this year’s National Public Health Week starting April 1st 2013 are:
• Ensuring a safe, healthy home for your family-health and safety begins at home-make prevention a fun family tradition.
• Providing a safe environment for children at school-schools are the perfect setting for improving child health, plus children’s health is a rallying point few can ignore.
• Creating a healthy workplace-wellness and safety in the workplace are good for health and business, let’s make prevention work for us.
• Protecting you while on the move-safety on the go is often in our own hands, but it is also tied to community design. Together we can turn our streets into roads of better health
• Empowering a healthy community – support public health efforts that create healthy opportunities for all. Health is a community affair.
St Croix County Public Health will be engaging in several activities during the National PHEW April 1-7, 2013. Activities include participation in a health fair at WITC in New Richmond, a healthy salad luncheon for public health staff and daily health and wellness tips on our SCC Facebook page. For further details go to: www.facebook.com/sccwipublichealth. St Croix County Public Health department will also recognize our 2013 Friend of Public Health. For more information on National PHEW, you can go to www.nphw.org.
