What is Public Health?
Prevent. Promote. Protect.
Health starts where we live, learn, work, and play. The vision of public health is healthy people living in healthy communities. Public health is the combination of science, practical skills, and beliefs, which are designed to give everyone a chance to live a healthy life. Such efforts include keeping you safe from the spread of contagious diseases, providing programs and advocating for policies to promote healthy lifestyles and opportunities, inspecting restaurants for sanitary food handling procedures, monitoring drinking water so it remains free of sewage or pollution, and upholding public health laws to protect the health of populations.
The Williams County Health Department has accomplished many things over the past 100 years so that everyone can have a fair and just opportunity to achieve optimal health and well-being! As public health progresses over the next 100 years, we will continue to pursue our vision to shape the healthiest and safest community in the lives of Williams County’s residents.
We’re here to help you!
Our Main Office is located in Montpelier:
310 Lincoln Ave.
Montpelier, Ohio 43543
Phone: 419-485-3141
Fax: 419-485-5420
Monday – Friday 8:30-4:30
Public health agencies at all levels work to:
Prevent epidemics and the spread of disease
Protect against environmental hazards
Prevent injuries
Promote and encourage healthy behaviors and mental health
Respond to disasters and assist communities in recovery
Assure the quality and accessibility of health services
Public health seeks to accomplish these by working
to provide essential services:
Assess and monitor population health status, factors that influence health, and community needs and assets
Investigate, diagnose, and address health problems and hazards affecting the population
Communicate effectively to inform and educate people about health, factors that influence it, and how to improve it
Strengthen, support, and mobilize communities and partnerships to improve health
Create, champion, and implement policies, plans, and laws that impact health
Utilize legal and regulatory actions designed to improve and protect the public’s health
Assure an effective system that enables equitable access to the individual services and care needed to be healthy
Build and support a diverse and skilled public health workforce
Improve and innovate public health functions through ongoing evaluation, research, and continuous quality improvement
Build and support a diverse and skilled public health workforce