This part of the assignment examines the credentials for both county and state health directors, according to Health Department (2021). Since it is rare for public service officers to display their contacts, the contact information given relates to the County and state health departments through which they are contacted, as Ferrer (2021) outlined. Below are the names and contact information for Los Angeles County health director and California health director according to County (2021).
Los Angeles County Health Director California Health Director
- Dr. Barbara Ferrer Michelle Baass
- 313 N. Figueroa Street, Room 806 General information: (916) 558-1784
- Los Angeles, CA 90012 Hearing impaired: 1-800-735-2929
- Phone: (213) 240-8144 PO Box 997377, MS 0500
- Fax: (213) 481-1406 Sacramento, CA 95899-7377
- Email: [email protected]
This section of the assignment looks at the “Ten Great Public Health Achievements,” focusing on infectious illness prevention and control according to Report (2011). This section of the assignment looks at how infectious disease prevention and control were accomplished. The “Ten Great Public Health Achievements” for the U.S, 2001 to 2010 include illnesses that can be prevented by vaccines, infectious illness prevention, and control, tobacco control, health of mothers and babies, motor vehicle safety, preventing cardiovascular disease, occupation safety, cancer prevention, preventing childhood lead poisoning, and preparedness and response in the public health field.
Infectious illness prevention and control were achieved through enhancing Infrastructure for public health at the state and local levels as outlined by Report (2011). The transition enhanced the access to quality healthcare by many people, hence effective infectious illness prevention and control. Technological innovation influenced the screening of different diseases; hence, health practitioners would determine ways to prevent and control infectious diseases. For instance, tuberculosis cases have reduced by 30 percent in the United States between 2001 and 2010.
There has also been a 58% decline in bloodstream infections from 2001 to 2009. The significant development in laboratory techniques and technology played the significant role in achieving that. Infectious illness prevention and control were also achieved through investment in disease surveillance. The investment resulted in improved capacity to identify contaminated foods for the well-being of the individuals. Furthermore, the health professionals ascertained the techniques to stop infectious illnesses from spreading.
The advancement in technology influenced expanded HIV screening for individuals aged 13 to 64 years, which mitigated the mortality rate and the spread of HIV. Furthermore, the number of individuals that visited the healthcare facilities for diagnosis increased, reducing the proportion of late diagnoses. The earlier diagnosis was beneficial because the individuals would access life-saving treatment and care. The victims were also educated on how to prevent the transmission to their partners. Moreover, this positively impacted the mortality rate from HIV in the United States between 2001 to 2010.
The information from the CDC predictive models was utilized in 2002 to prevent the spread of West Nile Virus through blood transfusion. The model enhanced the implementation of new blood donor screening, which mitigated more than 3000 potential infections. Report (2011) elucidates that Canine rabies that had been in existence for more than 60yearsin the United States was eradicated in 2004. Hence this provided the model for controlling the emergence of new infections. These achievements have improved the life expectancy for Americans due to the overall reduction of mortality rate that emanates from infectious diseases. The above analysis depicts that technological innovation has played a significant role in infectious illness prevention and control in the U.S.
References
County, L. (2021). Department of Public Health – Contact Us. Admin.publichealth.lacounty.gov. Web.
Ferrer, B. (2021). LA County Department of Public Health. Publichealth.lacounty.gov. Web.
Health Department, C. (2021). DHCS-Director-Biography. Dhcs.ca.gov. Web.
Report, C. (2011). Ten Great Public Health Achievements — United States, 2001-2010. Cdc.gov. Web.