The Colorado sun wakes you up and it's "A Blue Day" says the radio. It's nice that the air quality is good and that public health is around to monitor the pollution level and develop programs to address it. You make a note to check into that ride-sharing idea that is being offered at your workplace.
You hear your son laughing in the other room as your husband gets him ready for daycare. Public health assured that he is a healthy baby, thanks to the immunizations that ward off the diseases used to be deadly in the olden days. You give him a glass of milk, confident in the knowledge that it is safe and that public health checks the dairies, tests lab samples, and refrigeration levels of dairy products.
You remember the call from your mother last night to say that she is relieved to have been able to get a doctor appointment in her own town. Public health recognized the need for doctors in her rural area and helped to place one there. You are pleased that she won't have to spend the day traveling to and from her appointment in the city miles away.
It's time to leave for work and you buckle seatbelts around yourself and your son. It is a habit now, thanks to public health educational messages that have greatly reduced automobile- related deaths in this country.
The childcare center director welcomes you and your son and takes him into the room full of children. She and her staff have been trained in the public health measures necessary to run a safe, healthy program. Ultimately her center is trying to avoid the unnecessary epidemics that can occur with improper hand washing and childcare techniques. Historically, public health has looked at the root causes of disease and addresses them at this prevention-oriented level.
Heading on to work, you stop and pick up an egg sandwich at your favorite fast food restaurant. You know that the quality of the food is good because the local health department inspectors have rewarded 95 out of 100 possible points, ensuring that the standards have been met. Instead, a different public health message stuck in your mind, I need to limit my fat intake because my cholesterol levels are high. Enjoying the last bites of your sandwich, you make a decision to get up earlier the next day and eat the cereal you bought last week.
Work is good and relatively stress-free. You feel good because you have started a lunchtime walking program with five of your colleagues. The exercise increases aerobic fitness and helps your stress level for the rest of the afternoon. Public health studies have shown the positive effects of avoiding or lessening the risks of chronic disease by exercising routinely.
You are also happy because your business has opted to become a smoke free working environment. It has become clear through the years that smoking has definite links to cancer and other chronic diseases. Public health has been encouraging people and organizations to give up smoking to improve the overall quality of life.
It is the end of the day and you and your son stop at a local park with the toy boat he got for his birthday. Gently placing the boat in the pond, he jumps in surprise when he sees a fish swim by his hand. You smile and acknowledge one of the environmental health aspects of public health- to evaluate and monitor the cleanliness of our lakes, rivers and streams.
The day grows dark and the two of you head home. Your husband has made dinner so you spend the rest of the evening relaxing with your family and watching the news. There is a story about an injury prevention project and a local public health professional points out the positive outcomes that are being seen as a result of the community's prevention efforts.
As you lie in bed musing on the day, you realize that public health is not a one-day or a celebratory week, but an everyday kind of thing that we celebrate by living.
(Originally published by the Colorado Department of Health)
