Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
• <br />Core Functions <br />Assessment of community health status and available resources. <br />Policy Development resulting in proposals to support and encourage better health. <br />Assurance that needed services are available. <br />The mission of state and local health agencies is to protect and promote health, and prevent disease and inj ury. <br />Public health services are population -based —that is, services which are focused on improving the health <br />status of the population, as opposed to the treatment of individuals. This mission is the responsibility of the <br />federal public health agencies, the 5o state departments and the 3,000local public health agencies nationwide. <br />To accomplish this mission, public health agencies balance three core government public health functions. <br />These functions are essential to the maintenance of population -based services: <br />First, public health agencies assess community health status and whether the community has adequate <br />resources to address the problems that are identified <br />Second, they must use the data gathered through assessment to develop health policy and recommend <br />programs to carry out those health policies. <br />Finally, they must assure that necessary, high quality, effective services are available. This includes a <br />responsibility for quality assurance through licensing and other mechanisms. <br />4 <br />64 <br />