Nur 408 Public Health Research Paper

Comparison Paper Carol Rogers NUR/408 August 8, 2011 Shamar Walker

This paper will contrast public health agencies historical and current roles at the community, state, and national levels. A review of historic dates and significant events related to public and community health and the differences between the entities. Public health’s mission is to organize and implement health care policies to address environmental safety and planning to local residents. The focus of community health is statewide implementation of health education, fund allocation to local government, disease prevention, and establishing state wide goals to address environmental risks.
Denver Public Health Services provides preventative and primary care services to approximately to one out of five Denver residents and 35% of Denver’s children. Services are provided by the counties safety net hospital Denver Health. Denver Health’s history is
deeply rooted in the community. Denver Health was established in a log cabin on the banks of Cherry Creek and was one of the first hospitals west of the Mississippi river. The hospital has provided the citizens of Denver County access to health care since 1860. Denver Health’s Community Health Services is the second oldest of its kind in the United States. In 1965, the Office of Economic Opportunity established Denver Health as a community health center (Denver Health, 2002-2010). Denver Public Health’s commitment to the community is to promote, improve, and protect the health and environment of its residents and provide support for adjoining counties. The Denver public health department provides education, promotes healthy lifestyles, directs clinical care, and implements disease prevention services. Denver Public Health provides access to a variety of integrated services that include areas such as Communicable Disease Control and Investigations, Infectious Diseases/AIDS Clinic, Tuberculosis Clinic and Control Program, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Clinic and Control, Immunization Clinic and Outreach, Public Health Laboratories, Clinical and Epidemiologic Research, Vital Records (Birth and Death Certificates), Tobacco Control Program, STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. These programs are accessible to the individuals in Denver County despite the ability to pay. The Colorado Department of Public Health (CDPHE) protects and improves the health of Colorado’s residents and the environment. CDHPE is quick to respond to events that threaten public health, endanger environmental quality, monitor risks of food borne illnesses, perform inspections of health facilities and reduce public exposure to contaminated sites. According to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (n.d.), “Public health establishes by rule core public health services that local public health agencies must provide; set minimum quality standards for public health services; identify minimum qualifications for local public health directors and medical officers, as well as county and district public health directors and medical officers.” The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment was established in 1876, as the Colorado Territory Board of Health.
The founding physicians coordinated their efforts to address public health concerns and sanitation practices. The first state law aimed at controlling communicable disease was passed in 1876. The act directed the study of vital statistics of the territory, the influence of the climate upon disease and health in different localities in the territory, sanitary investigations and recommended standard work to address hygiene at schools. Today the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment promotes the goals of Healthy People 2020, provides direction to local agencies and sets statewide goals to promote
health. Public health at the national level is a division of the cabinet department of The United States Department of Health and Human Services. President Warren G. Harding proposed the development of The Department of Health Education and Welfare in 1923; however, it was not implemented until the 1950s because of a lack of funding. The Department of Health and Human Services became an independent federal agency in 1979. The HHS is responsible for protecting and promoting the health of residents of the United States, and forming partnerships with organizations that address world health. The HHS consists of sub-divisions that include The American Public Health Association, The National Institute of Health, and The Centers for Disease Control among others. “HHS provides national leadership, program resources and services needed to improve access to culturally competent, quality health care” (US Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). Public and community health agencies historically have played a key role in identifying and addressing potential risks to human life at local, state, and federal government levels. These entities have evolved and changed over the years to improve the quality of life of its residents by persistent study of environmental risks and disease prevention. Their contributions have resulted in federal laws mandating access to health care, health education, cleaner environments, and standard work for reporting infectious diseases.

References: Denver Health (2002-2010). Denver Public Health. Retrieved from http://denverhealth.org/Services/PublicHealth.aspx Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (n.d.). Office of Planning and Partnerships. Retrieved from http://www.cdphe.state.co.us /opp/intro/PDF/History_PH_Colorado.pdf US Department of Health and Human Services (n.d.). About HHS. Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/about Colorado Department of Public Health and Enviroment. (n.d.). Colorado Public Health Re-organization Act – SB 08-194 Executive Summary On. Retrieved from http://www.cdhpe.state.co.us