This month in Public Health - November Edition

King County, Washington sent this bulletin at 11/25/2015 11:33 AM PST

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Highlights from Public Health Insider and this month's headlines

November 2015

Seattle Great Wheel in French Flag Colors

Violence abroad and at home: A message from Jeff Duchin

A message from Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin, reflecting on the overwhelming problem of violence in our global community, as well as our common purpose to make a meaningful start here at home. (Photo Credit: KUOW)

You heard it here first: Changing our food borne illness public notification process

We are learning that people want to know more about our outbreak investigations, above and beyond our public alerts when there’s an immediate heath risk, and we respect that interest. This is part of a larger trend toward greater openness from government, which values the public’s right to know. Conversations with local media that also value public access to information, including the Seattle Times, raised issues that helped our Health Officer, Dr. Jeff Duchin to decide in July 2015 to develop a way to routinely provide public information about outbreaks.

Lending a helping hand during the Aurora Bridge bus collision

One of the challenges when you work on emergency response plans is that you don’t know when—or even if—your plans will be put into action. I work on plans for emergencies that involve large numbers of injuries or even fatalities, so on one hand, I hope we don’t have to activate them. But it definitely gives me peace of mind to know we’re ready...

Local colleges reinvigorate tobacco prevention

Recognizing that new strategies are necessary to combat tobacco’s influence, several local colleges partnered with Public Health—Seattle & King County to raise awareness about tobacco use on campus. Given that 99% of tobacco users start before age 26, colleges and universities are critical sites to confront tobacco’s influence on young people.

What to do if the lights go out

The forecast calls for high winds and rain through Tuesday night, and that means power outages are likely when trees or their limbs topple. Power outages don’t seem like a big deal until they happen–then they are a pain in the you-know-what at best, and a serious health hazard at their worst.

Public Health meets with Japanese food safety delegation

Members of our food inspection team and our epidemiology team met with a delegation of hygiene and food professionals from Japan to exchange ideas about food safety.

Uninsured in King County? Outreach team has a plan to help you

The Open Enrollment period for purchasing discount health insurance begins next week, and King County is offering free expert help - with special emphasis on areas where large numbers of uninsured people live and work. Those areas include south King County cities such as Auburn and Federal Way, along with some neighborhoods in Seattle and Bellevue.

Additional Headlines

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