We try to keep people healthy and safe from disease and injuries. We believe it is better to keep people from getting sick than to cure them. We also believe that it is better to find and treat sick people early rather than after they're very sick. We try to meet our goal in several ways:
First, we try to make sure we have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and safe food to eat. We also try to make sure that our wastes--our sewage, our trash, and our used chemicals like oil--are handled safely so they won't make people sick. We do our job by checking on businesses who might make our air, our water, and our food dirty and unsafe, and we teach them why they must not do so. Sometimes we have to use laws to make them stop. We also check to make sure that our schools and day care centers are safe and clean.
Second, we try to teach people how to keep themselves healthy. We teach them that their habits can make them sick or keep them well. We tell them that smoking, drinking alcohol, and using drugs can make them sick. We tell them that eating healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, exercising, and getting check-up and shots can keep them healthy. We teach how to keep grown-ups and kids from being hurt in accidents at home and work or while traveling in the car.
Third, we have clinics to help kids and adults stay healthy. Many people who come to our clinics do not have enough money to go to a doctor. We give vaccines and check for health problems in babies, children, and adults. We help women plan whether they want to have babies, when they want to have them, and what they should do to have a healthy baby. If someone is sick, we send them to a doctor, if we can find one, or to the hospital. The only sick people we treat are those who have some illnesses that can be passed on to other people. We do this to help keep the sickness from spreading.
Finally, we try to figure out what is causing disease and death in our county. We look for ways to help stop the problem. Sometimes, it is by giving people shots. Sometimes it is by closing a restaurant until it is cleaned up. Sometimes it is by passing laws which help make people wear seat belts or prevent stores from selling cigarettes to children.
We are proud of the work we do to help keep you and your family healthy.