LMAS District Health Dept.

County Phone Numbers

Luce: (906) 293-5107, (800) 562-4832

Mackinac: (906) 643-1100, (800) 214-9901

Alger: (906) 387-2297

Schoolcraft: (906) 341-6951, (800) 341-5677

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Public Health For Michigan For You

 Definition of Public Health 

        Public health addresses the health of the population as a whole rather than medical health care, which focuses on treatment of the individual ailment. According to the Institute of Medicine, the mission of public health is defined as "fulfilling society's interest in assuring conditions in which people can be healthy.

The Impact of Public Health

        Public health keeps entire populations healthy. When it fails, entire populations suffer.

10 Great Public Health Achievements (1900-1999)

1. Vaccination has resulted in the eradication of smallpox; elimination of poliomyelitis in the Americas; control of measles, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenza type B, and other infectious diseases in the United States.
2. Motor Vehicle Safety has reduced fatal injuries through improved engineering, safer highways and changes in personal behavior.
3. Safer workplaces have resulted in a 40% reduction in fatal occupational injuries through greater knowledge of risks and control of exposure.
4. Control of infectious diseases has resulted from cleaner drinking water and improved sanitation the first half of the century, as well as the discovery of antibiotics.
5. Decline in deaths from heart disease and stroke the second half of the century has resulted from risk factor reduction (e.g., smoking, high blood pressure) coupled with improved access to early detection and treatment.
6. Safer and healthier foods have resulted from a decrease in microbial contamination and increases in nutritional content early in the century; food fortification programs have nearly eliminated major nutritional deficiency diseases in the United States.
7. Healthier mothers and babies have resulted from better hygiene and nutrition, access to healthcare and technologic advances. Since 1900 infant and maternal mortality has decreased by 90%.
8. Family planning and contraceptive services have allowed for greater planning of childbirth and a reduction in sexually transmitted diseases.
9. Fluoridation of drinking water benefits children and adults by preventing tooth decay and reducing tooth loss, regardless of access to care or socioeconomic status.
10. Recognition of tobacco as a health hazard has resulted in changes on social norms to prevent onset smoking and promote cessation. Since the U.S. Surgeon General's report in 1964 on the risks of smoking, the prevalence among adults has decreased.