Home Featured Show Posts

The Many Talents of the Virginia Department of Health

Sponsored by the Virginia Department of Health

The public health workforce is very robust, but most people don’t know  what happens in public health. 

public health

The Workforce

Ana Colon is part of that workforce. She is the Eastern Region Epidemiologist for the Virginia Department of Health. She explains that epidemiology is an application of science to public health. It helps to identify outbreaks, the good health status of communities and also to figure out what is working and what isn’t working- in terms of keeping people healthy. 

public health

It’s really important that the Virginia Department of Health is able to inform the people in the communities of anything that may jeopardize their health. Awareness is important, because people can then make better informed decisions regarding their health. 

Patient AND Community

The Virginia Department of Health focuses not only on the patient, but the community that the patient lives in. They also focus on barriers to care that may be present in communities, to better help the citizens have open access to medical care. 

virginia department of health

Environmental Health

Environmental Health is another branch of public health. It focuses on the prevention of disease, and also the relationship between people and their environment. Locally in Hampton Roads, they prevent disease by focusing on diseases transmitted in food, water and the environment. 

public health

Emergency Preparedness

Another branch of public health is emergency preparedness. They do a lot of training and exercises to make sure that in the event of a real emergency, the staff knows exactly what to do in order to protect public health. 

vdh

A Rewarding Career

For anyone looking to join the amazing team at the Virginia Department of Health: a background in environmental health sciences,  epidemiology, microbiology, etc. have all proven to be helpful!

public health

The employees really love that they go to work every day and feel like they are making a difference. It’s a calling to be in public health, and the employees at VDH are truly heroes! 

For more information: 

www.iampublichealthva.org

https://www.facebook.com/VDHgov

https://www.instagram.com/virginiadeptofhealth

To watch this week’s entire episode of Living 757, click here! 

And if you would like to see someone featured on the show, please send a message to Share@Living757.com and you may just see them here soon!