Dr. Paul Offit is quoted as saying, “Our willingness to pay for the treatment of people who are sick but not to prevent disease in those who aren’t is rooted in the myth of invulnerability.” This quote emphasizes the importance of health and our innate tendency not to prioritize it until we don’t have it.
Public Health, as an institution, prioritizes health and prevention. Using data and epidemiological principles, we continuously evaluate how best to keep our communities healthy. Most of the time, public health happens behind the scenes, whether by safeguarding our water so it is safe to drink, ensuring our children grow up in a healthy environment, and preventing or, when needed, controlling infectious disease outbreaks, to name just a few examples. Together, these efforts help keep our communities healthy.
However, public health cannot just “do the work” for the community. The best public health plans will not succeed -- public health cannot happen -- by one person or even one organization. Public health depends on the commitment and work of the entire community.
That is why one of our overriding principles at Thunder Bay District Health Unit is to continuously foster, grow, and initiate new partnerships, collaboration, and coordination among individuals and organizations throughout the district. It is about nurturing a sense of community that cares about its neighbours’ well-being.
With all organizations we interact with, we will consistently advocate for the consideration of health, both mental and physical, in everything we do as a community. We understand that social issues, primary and secondary education, daily work, inequity, racism and many other factors affect health. When we are dealing with limited resources, we need to look at every angle, review the data, understand the community impact, and know where our best investment lies to improve our community’s overall health.
Our job in public health is to continuously work with the community, so they understand population-based health and its importance to the community, their families, and themselves. We help people see how their work, whether in schools, through their business, or in their daily interactions, contributes to our contentment, our happiness, and our way of life.
Working together to build a healthier, better tomorrow will have positive effects far beyond our individual health, because:
"When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot become manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied."
- Herophilus of Chalcedon, 335–280 BC, The physician to Alexander the Great
With a healthy community, we will have a healthier society.
Dr. Greg Holzman, Medical Officer of Health (Acting) & Chief Executive Officer