Health survey focuses on need for good habits

To The Eagle:

As a person who has worked in Public Health for the majority of the last 47 years, as a Public Health Nurse and Public Health Administrator, it was a pleasure to read in the paper recently that the Wahkiakum County Health & Human Services had presented a report to the county on health data about our residents.

This information in detail is available at http://www.countyhealthrankings.org and is based on an annual random survey of adults and youth in Washington State. Eighty years ago this report would have looked at things we now take for granted, like clean water, hand washing and immunizations. With the public health interventions of 80 years ago, we now live long enough to not die from the infectious diseases that wiped out populations then.

Today we have learned that our long term health is based a lot on our own personal behaviors. The presentation focused on what the behaviors are that determine an individual's health and what the Health Department is doing to support these positive behaviors. It is part of the mission of Public Health to present data to the community and based on that data support and develop programs that can improve the community's health. It was a good reminder that diet, activity and tobacco are things we can control for ourselves and there is always a health benefit when we choose healthier behavior.

So thank you, Health Department, for the reminder about what I can do for myself and how to support the community to be healthier.

Carol W. Cole

Cathlamet