Governor Laura Kelly today proclaimed the week of April 5-11 as National Public Health Week in Kansas.
The proclamation honors public health officials for the work they do each day to ensure communities can prevent, prepare for, withstand, and recover from a wide range of health threats.
“Public health officials have always offered essential services to build healthier and happier communities across the state,” Governor Kelly said. “But during the COVID-19 pandemic they’ve gone above and beyond, working impossibly long hours to protect Kansans’ health and safety. They’ve worked tirelessly so we can get our state back to work, back to school, and back to normal. I sincerely thank all public health officials for their herculean efforts over the past year.”
Currently, six in 10 U.S. adults have a chronic disease, many of which are preventable, and four in 10 have two or more. Health risks such as alcoholism, obesity, and tobacco are the primary reason for 7 out of every 10 deaths annually in the United States.
The proclamation details the importance of public health professionals’ work in reducing the risk of these preventable diseases, improving life expectancy in Kansas and the United States, addressing social determinants of health, and reducing the spread of infectious disease like COVID-19.