Agenda - 03-09-1999 - III-B - Laserfiche WebLink

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Viii REFERENCES APPENDIX A APPENDIX B APPENDIX C E, HEALTHY COMMUNITIES 51 57 67 75 Executive Summary The Future of Public Health, issued in 1988, set forth a vision of public health and a specific role for the governmental public health agency within that vision, including the mission and content of public health, and an organizational framework. In the eight years since the report was released, there has been a significant strengthening of practice in governmental public health agencies and other settings. Substantial social, demographic, and technological changes in recent years, however, have made it necessary to reexamine governmental public health agencies' efforts to improve the public's health. Drawing on the activities and discussions initiated by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Public Health, the current report addresses two critical public health issues that can greatly influence the opportunity for our public to be healthy as the United States enters a new century--(1) the relationship between public health agencies and managed care organizations, and (2) the role of the public health agency in the community-wand their implications for the broader issues raised in The Future of Public Health. The committee's analysis, presented in this report, reaffirmed the understanding of public health professionals and health scientists that the public's health depends on the interaction of many factors; thus, the health of a community is a shared responsibility of many entities, organizations, and interests in the community, Including health service delivery organizations, public health agencies, other public and private entities, and the people of a community. Within this context of shared responsibility, specific entities should identify, and be held accountable for, the actions they can take to contribute toward the community's health. As a result of this understanding, o4 1 0