Public Health State by State, Research Paper Example

North Dakota

The North Dakota Public Health System includes seven sections. They are Administrative Support, Medical Services, Community Health, Health Resources, Environmental Health, Emergency Preparedness and Response, and Special Populations (Dwelle, 2012). The North Dakota Public Health System is proactively promoting and protecting the health of the people. What follows is an investigation of the core functions of public health systems as they relate to North Dakota.

The first core function is of public health is assessment. The Health Resources Section includes three divisions: Health Facilities, Life Safety and Construction, and Food and Lodging (Dwelle, 2012). It implements an automated assessment and outcome information system for health agencies. This helps maintain solid healthcare performance within the state.

The second core function of public health is policy development. Emergency Preparedness and Response Section governs the collection of public health information (Dwelle, 2012). This information is shared with the Centers for Disease Control and prevention to help build health care infrastructure based on the health data collected.

The third core function of public health is assurance. The Community Health section helps maintain quality assurance within the state (Dwelle, 2012). Nevertheless, there are overlapping responsibilities within health care quality assurance so it is only one of many agencies that participate in assurance measures.

Overall, The North Dakota Public Health System has more sections than either The Washington Public Health System or the Ohio Public Health System (Wymyslo, 2012; Seleky, 2012). It is also interesting to note the Washington Public Health System has a subsection dedicated specifically to terror responses (Seleky, 2012). This function is presumably governed by the Emergency Preparedness and Response Section of the North Dakota Public Health System.

References

Dwelle, T. (2012). Department Overview: North Dakota Department of Health. Retrieved from http://www.ndhealth.gov/DoH/Overview/

Seleky, M. (2012). Washington State Department of Public Health. Retrieved from http://www.doh.wa.gov/

Wymyslo, T.E. (2012). Ohio Department of Health. Retrieved from http://www.odh.ohio.gov/