prevention. The programs and services provided by SJBPH reflect both the traditional public health needs such as immunizations and restaurant inspections, as well as those in response to the modern-day health challenges such as positive youth development and suicide prevention programs.
The agency’s current-day mission is to protect human and environmental health and inspire well-being in the communities we serve. Interestingly, this could have served as the mission in 1948, at the agency’s inception, and more than likely will be able to appropriately represent the work of the agency in decades to come. Much of the focus of public health work has withstood the test of time; to help all individuals reach their highest potential of health. SJBPH’s look back in history reinforces the relevance of this year’s Public Health Week theme, Changing the Future Together.