It's Public Health Thank You Day
Today, November 25, is a day to give thanks. I know it’s not Thanksgiving, but every year on the Monday before Thanksgiving leading public health organizations take the time to say “thank you” to our nation’s public health workforce. These extraordinary and all too often unsung heroes work tirelessly every day to protect us from disease, injury, and other health threats.
They work to keep our air and drinking water clean, our food and consumer products safe, our communities healthy, and our children safe from harm. They conduct surveillance for infectious and chronic diseases. They do research to identify emerging health threats and effective interventions. They implement measures to control outbreaks and epidemics. They provide information, resources, advice, and guidance on health promotion and disease prevention. They prepare for and respond to natural disasters and other public health emergencies. They develop evidence-based policies to improve health outcomes, and advocate for funding and legislation to support public health initiatives. They often work across multiple sectors to address public health challenges.
They are scientists, health care providers, epidemiologists, health educators and communicators, policy analysts, and environmental health specialists. In short, they are essential elements for preventing disease and injury, increasing life expectancy, reducing health disparities, and improving our quality of life. And with the advent of a new presidential administration only months away, their critical work and even their very jobs are under threat.
The theme of this year’s Public Health Thank You Day (#PHTYD) is “Public health is a lifesaver, today and every day.” It calls attention to the countless ways public health professionals work on a daily basis to promote and protect our health and shines a light on their dedication to serving communities across the country
So please join us here at SciLight to thank the public health workforce for their unwavering efforts in improving and protecting the well-being of communities nationwide. And to let them know that we will be there for them in the rocky times ahead.
That’s it for today - Thank you so much for reading SciLight!
If you enjoyed today’s post, please like it or share it with others. You can also support the work we do to shine a light on the politicization of science by becoming a paid subscriber!
If you want to share today’s post as a web page with your network, click this button:
If you have suggestions, questions, comments, or want to drop us a line - send it all to scilightsubstack@gmail.com