ASTHO Celebrates National Public Health Week

April 01, 2019

ARLINGTON, VA—The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) joins the American Public Health Association (APHA) to observe National Public Health Week, recognizing the contributions of public health professionals to create a healthier nation. Each day, National Public Health Week will focus on a particular public health topic, including violence prevention, rural health, and healthy communities, which resonates with the 2019 ASTHO President’s Challenge, “Building Healthy and Resilient Communities.”

This multiyear initiative, led by ASTHO’s president and director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, Nicole Alexander-Scott, MD, MPH, in partnership with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and aligned with the U.S. Surgeon General’s focus on community health and economic prosperity, calls on state, territorial, local, and tribal health officials to promote investments in community-led, place-based solutions to empower communities and reduce health disparities.

“This year, we join APHA in celebrating advancements in public health and bring a renewed focus to the important role state and territorial health departments play in promoting health, wellness, safety, and opportunity in our communities,” says Alexander-Scott. “ASTHO commends APHA for placing an emphasis on healthy communities during National Public Health Week. We all have a responsibility to make the critical effort necessary to ensure optimal health for everyone in every community, especially our most vulnerable. Here in Rhode Island, as well as in Georgia, California, Texas, and states across the nation, initiatives are already underway that are creating opportunities for public health to partner with community advocates, policymakers, business leaders, and others to make lasting changes that transform the health of the entire population. Empowering decisionmakers to make health a priority plays a critical role in this work. By working together, we can create the type of strong public health system promoted by the ASTHO President’s Challenge and build healthy, resilient communities across the nation.”

View ASTHO’s 2019 President’s Challenge for more information. Visit APHA to learn more about National Public Health Week.

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ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and Washington, D.C., as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.