Medical Minute with Dr. Rob Gillio
Public Health Awareness Week: It Really is a TEAM Sport

It’s National Public Health Week.
Hi, I am Dr. Rob. Dr. Robert Gillio, the Chief Medical Officer at the Force for Health Network and it’s National Public Health Week. A time to celebrate the systems, workers and communities that keep us healthy every day. Public health isn’t just about medicine, it’s about people.

All of us working to get clean air and water, safe housing and sidewalks, vaccines, school lunches and mental health support. Disaster preparedness. You know, from tobacco laws to food safety, to covid response to disaster preparedness and response. Public health saves lives quietly and consistently. They’re unsung heroes of the past decade, but they were also victims to intense prejudice that wasn’t warranted. I don’t believe it is not just the work of professionals in public health or population health. It’s a shared effort. It’s a team sport. We are all about that with what we’re doing at the Force for Health.

We’re trying to make population health a team sport and create a movement where everybody’s on the team when they play a role. How can you do it? Eat healthy, get moving. Check in on your neighbors, especially on those hot days in the summer. Are the windows closed and locked ’cause of fear? Do they have a fan? Do they have air conditioning? Do they have water in the winter? Are they cold, uh, without enough money to have their heat up? Are there pipes frozen? Those things happen in neighborhoods. People die and their neighbors don’t even know it. Speak up for policies that protect everyone, especially the most vulnerable.

You know, public health is prevention in action. Wow. Public health is prevention in action, but it is also follow up and response in action. It’s working together for a stronger, safer, more integrated, um, set of services that are done in an equitable future for all.

Let’s learn it, live it, and then let’s share it. Let’s become part of the public health team. I’m Dr. Rob. Stay informed, take action and be a force for health. Thank you.