When a health crisis happens, it is the public health department that plays the largest role in keeping everyone in the community safe and out of harm’s way. Some of the ways they may try and help protect the citizens are by educating them, developing new strategies, alerting the community, preventing the spread, and providing healthy options that could reduce the risk of catching the virus going around the community.
1. Education
When a health crisis occurs, the first thing the public health department does for you is to educate you on the concern. This means that they will go over the problem with you and explain how it started, how they plan to stop it from spreading, what the symptoms consist of, and how you and your family can protect yourself during the crisis. By educating individuals on the ongoing crisis, people will have better insight into what they can do to avoid coming into contact with whatever is causing the crisis whether it is a flu, cold, or air born disease.
2. Developing New Strategies
One of the most important roles the public health department has during a health crisis is developing new strategies on how how to fight the crisis. Some options they may take into consideration is asking people to stay home until things start to settle down, what to purchase at a hospital supply store, or providing guidelines on what to do when you are out in public to decrease your risk of catching the cold, flu, or disease that is spreading throughout the community. In order for these strategies to work, the public health department will need full cooperation from everyone in the community to keep the crisis from becoming worse and spreading to more people at a rapid rate.
3. Alerting the Community
The public health department is the one who immediately alerts the community as soon as a health crisis starts to take place. Along with the first initial alert, they will continue to provide everyone in the community with updates and new alerts pertaining to the crisis. The alerts can be sent out via email, news feeds, live news, and in local newspapers. By having the opportunity to read these alerts, you will have a better chance of keeping yourself safe as long as the updates and alerts keep coming. Many people rely on these alerts in order to know when safety is part of their daily life once again and therefore, being able to return to their regular daily functions.
4. Prevention
Even before the crisis actually happens, the public health department helps with prevention by informing the public of precautions to use while out in public like washing your hands, using hand sanitizer, and not touching your face after going grocery shopping. These service members will also take specific tips on addressing the public on how to prevent this cold, flu, or disease from spreading to others in the community. This means they are working around the clock trying to find ways to keep you and all your loved ones safe from the current health crisis in the area.
5. Healthy Solutions
One thing that is always needed during a health crisis is a healthy solution. By listening to the public health department, you will receive information on vaccines and healthy tips to stay say while the crisis is going on. By staying up to date on this information, you and your family will have a better chance of staying safe during the difficult times of a crisis.
Most individuals do not realize the amount of work it takes employees at the public health department to ensure the safety of the community. Steps they must take are healthy solutions for the community, prevention, new strategic tactics, alerts and updates, and education. By taking these steps, the department can better serve their community and help everyone become aware of the dangers regarding the virus and how they can help keep themselves and their family safe. Having this safety net during a crisis is important for every community around the world.