Marin County Celebrates National Public Health Week

Marin County Celebrates National Public Health Week

A Healthier Marin Begins Today:  20 Simple Things We Can All Do To Improve  Health

San Rafael, CA – The County of Marin is taking to social media to celebrate National Public Health Week (April 2-8) and encourage residents to take simple actions to prevent disease and connect with local health and wellness agencies.  The Marin County Board of Supervisors will also recognize National Public Health Week with a proclamation at the Board of Supervisors Meeting on April 3^rd.

Each day of National Public Health Week, the County will be issuing messages through our Twitter account at http://twitter.com/#!/maringov containing ways in which Marin residents can take preventive measures to live longer and healthier lives.  Larry Meredith, Director of Health and Human Services stated, “Preventing disease before it begins is critical to creating a healthier Marin, as well as to lowering the cost of health care. Each of us has the power to take immediate and effective actions that will improve the health of our families and communities.” 

“Each day we will be tweeting prevention messages that show how everyone has a role to play, and each action, no matter how small, can make a big difference in our communities” said Gary Najarian, coordinator of the Prevention Hub in Health and Human Services. 

The daily themes for the prevention tweets are:

• Monday: A healthier America begins with active living and healthy eating — Promote healthy choices in your communities, such as bike lanes and farmer’s markets.

• Tuesday: A healthier America begins with living tobacco- and drug-free and preventing alcohol abuse — Identify alcohol and drug use disorders early to reduce high-risk alcohol and drug consumption.

• Wednesday: A healthier America begins with preventing communicable diseases — Encourage proper hand-washing and food preparation habits.

• Thursday: A healthier America begins with reproductive and sexual health — Practice safe sex, encourage responsible contraception behavior and promote access to preventive health services.

• Friday: A healthier America begins with mental and emotional well-being — Refer people with signs of depression and suicidal thinking to appropriate resources and help centers.

Resources for National Public Health Week:

• American Public Health Association, National Public Health Week: http://www.nphw.org/
• VIDEO:  A Healthier America: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atfiRB2kcIY
• VIDEO:  Healthiest Nation in One Generation:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuBggj7Zd3A
• Chttp://www.marincounty.org/hhs
• Health and Human Services, Prevention Hub:  www.marincounty.org/prevention

Copies of the Proclamation by the Board of Supervisors and the full list of “tweets” are available upon request.

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