Thanks to Natasha Pineda for mentioning National Public Health Week, April 6-12, and describing the essential roles that municipal, state and federal public health services play in the battle against COVID-19. Most of the time, though, it’s easy to ignore all the behind-the-scenes work of public health professionals and agencies that makes modern life possible. Public health is more than preventing and stopping pandemics — it’s everything that promotes and protects the health of people.
We need a truly robust public health system in both good times and bad. That’s where the American Public Health Association, or APHA, and the Alaska Public Health Association, aka ALPHA come in. APHA, in coordination with its state and regional affiliates, work with decision-makers to shape public health policies, year after year. APHA is the leading voice for public health in the nation, and ALPHA, the state affiliate of the APHA since 1976, is the leading voice for public health in Alaska.
Concerned Alaskans of all backgrounds can join ALPHA to work with public health professionals for a better, healthier future. Are you a parent concerned about kids using tobacco and vaping? Do you care about your neighbors on Medicaid? Do you wish somebody would do something about restoring social services for all the people you see on the streets? Do you worry about the cleanliness of the air you breathe and the water you drink? Are you alarmed about the likely health effects of the climate crisis? Opioid abuse? Domestic violence? ALPHA is working to improve our state’s ability to deal with each of those issues, and more.
We can all let our legislators know we want appropriate funding for public health nurses and epidemiologists, for mental health services, and for university programs that conduct research and provide training on medicine and public health. A good way to stay informed and raise your voice together with other concerned citizens is to join ALPHA. You’ll receive regular updates on important health policy issues, and you’ll have the best public health information right at your fingertips. Visit www.alaskapublichealth.org and click on the Membership tab.
— Tim Hinterberger
President-elect, Alaska Public Health Association
Anchorage
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