Public health impacts you and your family’s lives everyday!
Even if you have never entered the doors of the Health Department, health officials are still working to protect you and your family everyday.

Kandi Buckland, R.N. and acting public health administrator at the El Paso County Health Department, says, "For about the cost of latte ($5.35 per person/annually) the health department provides a menu of essential public health protections for our Community."

These services include making sure your water is safe to drink, your food is safe to eat, infectious diseases are prevented and contained, and that everyone is immunized against potentially deadly diseases.

Buckland says without a stable funding solution, these public health protections may be cut.

So far in 2008, there have been 71 closures of public swimming pools and spas due to health and safety concerns—including unsafe chemical levels and water contamination.

When it comes to food, the health department says from January 1st through July 31st this year, they have investigated seven times as many foodborne illness outbreaks compared to last year. Partly because the number of retail food venues is increasing.

Health officials say nearly one out of every ten infectious disease cases in the state of Colorado come from El Paso County. Meanwhile, EPC women and men 15- to 24 years old have some of the highest STD rates in the state.

Also, kindergarten children in the county have an immunization rate under 70%, which is well below the Healthy People 2010 goal of 95%.

The Health Department is concerned about the growing risk of highly contagious and potentially deadly diseases entering our community. From a disease-risk perspective, our county has some of the key elements for an outbreak, especially among younger children.

Officials cite all this data to make one point clear, playing with the department's budget is like playing with the health safety of the community.

Budget constraints are threatening health safety all over the county, and health officials want you to be aware of the consequences of such accounting.

Tune in to KKTV 11 News at 4:00 p.m. every Tuesday for the latest health topics in your community.