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A Message from the Medical Officer of Health for Leeds,
Grenville and Lanark
It is with great pleasure that I introduce myself as the Medical
Officer of Health for Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties. The essence of
public health is prevention so it tends to be invisible to the public when done
well. Crises of recent years have raised the profile of the role of public
health and its importance and caused the public to focus on the need for
protection from communicable diseases when the major burden of illness in our
society is from chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer as well as
injury.
We must protect the community from communicable diseases and also work to
prevent the chronic diseases. In order to carry out our duties, we have a
strategic plan to cover the years 2006-2010 entitled Moving Upstream. The title
refers to the need to move upstream from the actual disease state to prevent
disease or, even further upstream, to prevent the factors that lead to disease.
These factors are often called the determinants of health and include lifestyle
choices, the physical and socioeconomic environment and health care services.
The Health Unit has programs dealing with all of these issues.
Ultimately, public health is a team effort that succeeds only with cooperation
in the community. The Health Unit staff and the Board of Health may be the prime
movers in the public health sector but we could never succeed without our
partner agencies and the broader community that we serve.
I have started going out to meet with those working in our partner agencies to
cement relationships and explore new partnerships. I look forward to working
with our partners to protect and promote the health of our community.
Anne O. Carter, MD, MHSc, FRCPC |
The essence of public health is prevention so it tends to be
invisible to the public when done well.
|
Leeds,
Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit -
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