The Department of Health of Florida - Case Study Example

Running Head: Public Health and Health Care Public Health and Health Care of Public Health and Health Care Introduction The Department of Health of Florida is considered to be a service organization, which has the duty and the responsibility to provide health services to the Palm Beach County community. This paper has selected the Department of Health of Florida and will review its main functions. The paper will concentrate on providing detailed and comprehensive overview of the organization as well its contribution in the public health domain. It will also discuss the role of agency workers and their contribution in the promotion of public health. Department of Health of Florida The Department of Health of Florida provides health services to the Palm Beach County community. Through strategic planning and striving for innovation, the organization has successfully introduced wide ranging health programs such as school health, health education, disease prevention and control, etc. Additionally the department works collaboratively with the private sector to provide basic and fundamental care to the “medically indigent population of the County” in its health centers(Palm Beach Health Care Website, 2010). The Health Department is considered to be an example and model agency for several health organizations and departments across the United States of America. By constant research and development and through innovation, it has successfully introduced health programs, which concentrate on delivering health care to the entire community. Role of Department of Health of Florida Core Functions The core health functions of the Department of Health of Florida are discussed below: Clinical Health In the clinical health domain, the Department of Health of Florida concentrates on providing medical and therapeutic services to children, who fulfill the eligibility conditions from infancy to the age of twenty one. It also concentrates to provide medical services to adults, who are above the age of twenty one. It also offers several birth control methods, precautionary care and treatment to individuals, who eligible to get these services. It also concentrates on providing complete prenatal and postnatal care and offers comprehensive and complete testing for infectious and transmissible diseases such as AIDS, sexually transmitted disease, tuberculosis, etc(Palm Beach Health Care Website, 2010). Community Health In the community health domain, the Department had laid down the foundations of the Community Health Division. This Division concentrates on meeting and fulfilling the strategic goals such as prevention of diseases and promotion of community health. The main duty of the division is to execute and carry out the fundamental and basic health services to the community (Palm Beach Health Care Website, 2010). Environmental Health In the environmental domain, the Division of Environmental Health and Engineering concentrates on making efforts to protect the residents of Palm Beach County from environmental hazards such as pollutants, containments, wastes, natural disasters, etc. Air Pollution Control It has a guide for indoor environmental quality and evaluates and assesses the indoor quality of air. In order to control air pollution, it concentrates on the examination and assessment of various sources of air pollution (Palm Beach Health Care Website, 2010). At the same time, it has a regulation for open burning. It also investigates the quality of air complaints. It monitors the air quality of the environment and concentrates on controlling the mobile sources of air pollution. Disease Prevention Services The Division also provides disease prevention services. It concentrates on screening and prevention of diseases, which are caused by animals and insects. Diseases such as rabies, malaria, avian influenza, etc are monitored by the Division. Another important duty of the division is to inspect food and promote food hygiene. For this purpose, complains related to food illness are investigated. Institution food services are also subjected to inspection. Environmental Contaminants Environmental contaminants programs, which have been introduced by the Department includes pollution prevention, remediation of asbestos, prevention of childhood lead poisoning, etc. Regulated Facilities Services Division of Environmental Health and Engineering offers the regulated facilities services in the child care and institutional health domain (Palm Beach Health Care Website, 2010). The Division is responsible for examination and checking of adult homes, foster homes, and residential facilities. It provides drug treatment facilities for children and inspects school sanitation. Water Services The following water services are provided by the Division of Environmental Health and Engineering. It inspects the entire structure of water supply It investigates and checks the quality of drinking water. It monitors fire hydrant Gives permission for restricted and limited commercial wells. It inspects the sources of drinking water and irrigation. It also inspects public swimming pools, clubs, spas, etc. It is responsible for checking and monitoring of public beaches to check for bacteria and other containments. Waste Services The waste services provided by the Division are discussed below: It is responsible for disposing biomedical waste It investigates complaints against illegal waste disposal, toxic spills or hazardous materials It issues licenses to organizations, which manage hazardous wastes. It deals with the sanitary nuisance complaints It deals with the complaints against unlawful disposal of waste materials, landfills, etc. Dental Health The Department has introduced a Dental Program in its main dental facilities, which concentrates on providing precautionary, curative and emergency dental services to the County. The main aim of this program is to ensure that dental diseases are identified and necessary precautions are taken with the help of early involvement strategies(Palm Beach Health Care Website, 2010). Healthy Beginnings Nurses The Healthy Beginnings Nurses Program concentrates on providing health services from the prenatal stage till the age of three. This program was introduced by the Health Department in order to deal with infant mortality and to improve the overall birth outcomes in the community (Palm Beach Health Care Website, 2010). This service concentrates on improving the pregnancy outcomes and concentrates on educating pregnant and new born mothers in all the domains of parenting. It concentrates on improving child care. School Health Services The School Health Division concentrates on providing medical supervision, control, discussion and education for the entire staff of the school health program. This Division concentrates on improving the quality of the school by developing health guidelines, strategies and practices. The HIV/STD/TB clinic In dealing with fatal and contagious diseases such as Aids, Tuberculosis, etc, the Division has introduced several innovative programs such as confidential HIV testing, Diagnosis and Treatment, HIV Counseling, etc. Role of Agency Workers The role of the agency workers is to promote the well being and welfare of residents of Palm Beach County and to promote public health. It is necessary for the agency worker to ensure that each and every eligible resident of the entire community gets precautionary care and treatment. At the same time, he or she is responsible for educating the entire community on transmissible diseases such as AIDS, sexually transmitted disease, tuberculosis, etc and how to prevent them. At the same time, the agency worker must educate the residents on environmental issues, air pollution control, water waste control, etc in order to ensure that the community is free from environmental hazards. Pregnant and new born mothers must be supplied with information in all domains of parenting. It is the duty of the agency worker to ensure that mothers know how to take care of their children. However, in order to achieve the health aims and objectives, it is necessary that the agency workers are properly trained and equipped with special skills. For this purpose, they are required to attend special training programs in order to educate the residents on health issues and services. At the same time, they must be equipped with proper knowledge on team building and must have strong communication skills as they have to convey their knowledge to the entire community in order to meet the health goals and objectives. Conclusion This paper has analyzed and discussed the Department of Health of Florida and its impact on the entire Palm Beach community in the health domain. Through robust strategies and innovation, the Department has introduced several health programs and services. References: Palm Beach Health Care Website. Palm beach health care, palm beach county health department . (2010, April 8). Retrieved from http://www.pbchd.com/ Palm Beach Health Care Website. Palm beach health care, palm beach county health department . (2010, April 8). Retrieved from http://www.pbchd.com/services/health_services.html Read More