Montgomery County Recognizes National Public Health Week April 3-9

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County will commemorate National Public Health Week (NPHW) April 3-9 by highlighting daily themes through a series of social media posts based on this year’s theme “Centering and Celebrating Cultures in Health.” Montgomery County is home to many diverse cultures, all of which have different health impacts based on unique backgrounds and circumstances. It is important to honor these cultures through meeting people where they are to positively impact their health.

“Those who work in public health demonstrate their resilience, compassion, and talent for their craft day after day, and month after month,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “It took a pandemic for many to realize their heroism and dedication to keep us safe, healthy and alive. But since time immemorial, our public health workers have cared for us at our weakest, helped us fight against cancer, overcome mental health challenges and addictions, and protect the welfare of the most vulnerable amongst us. This week, we thank all of them for their tireless efforts. Specifically, I want to acknowledge our County government public health employees as well as the public health volunteers in the County’s Medical Reserve Corps and send my sincere gratitude for their hard work.”

The County’s Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Twitter and Facebook platforms, as well as Healthy Montgomery’s Twitter and Instagram, will include daily messages corresponding to daily themes.  The themes are:

• Community (Monday, April 3)
• Violence Prevention (Tuesday, April 4)
• Reproductive and Sexual Health (Wednesday, April 5)
• Mental Health (Thursday, April 6)
• Rural Health (Friday, April 7)
• Accessibility (Saturday, April 8)
• Food and Nutrition (Sunday, April 9)

DHHS also will host a Public Health Services’ staff appreciation event where leadership will personally thank public health workers and facilitate team-building activities.

Public health promotes and protects the health of people and 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.

Recent and upcoming activities to support public health include:

• Later this spring, DHHS’s Public Health Services will publish the 2023 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The CHNA illustrates health data provided by the community and offers next steps to address health needs.
• DHHS partnered with community stakeholders, such as Montgomery County Public Schools, to offer forums on fentanyl and provide Naloxone (Narcan) training.
• Public Health Services implemented a new social marketing strategy in which daily posts are shared to the Healthy Montgomery Twitter and Instagram page. This strategy centers around engaging community members through colorful health campaigns that highlight health observances and recent news.

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

Follow DHHS on Twitter and Facebook and follow Healthy Montgomery on Twitter and Instagram. Follow National Public Health Week on Twitter.