Health Dept. Gets Busy

It’s going to be a month of activities and education for the Valley County Health Department. The department will be focusing on a few different issues, as this is Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Awareness month and next week is National Public Health Week.

The local health department staff is gearing up not only to educate the public on local issues, but they’re also finalizing details on their community stroll.

The public will be invited to show up for the community stroll that is sponsored by the city of Glasgow and the health department on Wednesday, April 22, from 4:30-6 p.m. It will take place at Sullivan Trail behind Home Run Pond. The health department will be handing out water bottles and a few other items to participants.

The idea is to promote walking as a part of being healthy. The trail is around 1.9 miles long and participants can show up at any time to take part. It’s not going to be timed or a competition. Staff from the health department will be along the trail to help guide people.

In a release given to The Courier, the department stated that the vision of the Valley County Health Department is to protect the community by promoting healthy behaviors that would prevent disease or decrease illness and disease in the county.

Nationally, public health is encouraging people to pledge to eat well and exercise, as well as get regular checkups. Having more healthy choices can help keep you healthy, and set an example for friends and family members. The public can also recognize that social and environmental factors affect health and limit healthy choices for people. If we can create an environment to promote healthy decisions, it can make a bigger impact.

According to the statement provided, the U.S. spends more on healthcare than other comparable countries, but studies show that Americans live shorter lives and struggle with obesity, infant mortality, diabetes and heart disease.

The local health department has several areas they are looking to target, but they will also be updating the community health assessment within the next six months.

The assessment targets areas that are problems in Valley County. That assessment is a combined effort with FMDH, the last assessment can be found at the FMDH website.