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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/April 6, 1998

See also: Photo Contest--National Public Health Week 1998: Faces and Places of Public Health

SECRETARY OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES AND SURGEON GENERAL KICK OFF NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK

Washington, DC--Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna E. Shalala, kicks off National Public Health Week today at 9:30 am at the National Press Club, commending the Public Health Service's two centuries of achievement. National Public Health Week has been designated as a time to celebrate the many successes of public health and to recognize the contributions of public health and prevention services to America's well-being.

David Satcher, M.D., M.P.H.,Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services is delivering the keynote address. "Americans enjoy better health, live in healthier conditions, and live longer than at any time in the past. To a large extent, these trends are the result of the tremendous efforts of Public Health, and this progress must continue," says Satcher.

National Public Health Week (April 6-12) focuses public attention on Federal, State, community, and individual efforts aimed at addressing public health concerns. At least 46 States and more than 60 percent of local health departments nationwide are holding special events commemorating National Public Health Week.

Winners of a photography contest held by the National Public Health Week Steering Committee are being awarded their prizes at this event. In congratulating the grand prize and other contest winners and acknowledging the more than 200 contest entries submitted from across the country, Mohammad N. Akhter, MD, MPH, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association, states, "These photographs help to communicate, in a visual and revealing way, the wide range of services and achievements of public health."

The contest, which was open to photojournalists and the public, was sponsored in part by Colgate-Palmolive Company, HumanSoft, LLC, and Turning Point.

The winning photographs, taken by photojournalists and public health workers from across the country, are part of the "Healthy People in Healthy Communities" exhibit, now on display for two weeks at the National Press Club, Washington, DC. The National Public Health Photography Exhibit consists of photographic images that capture the broad scope of public health in the United States. The exhibit includes award-winning photographs from the Nation's photojournalists and public health workers as well as archival photographs.

The National Public Health Week Steering Committee comprises governmental agencies, associations, and other organizations that represent national, Federal, State, and local public health groups and their allies. The Steering Committee coordinates, plans, and provides technical support for National Public Health Week and other efforts to promote public health throughout the country.

National Public Health Week Steering Committee
American College of Preventive Medicine
American Public Health Association
Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs
Association of Schools of Public Health
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine
Colgate-Palmolive Company
National Association of Counties
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Local Boards of Health
National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors
National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
National Health Council
National Public Health Information Coalition
North Carolina Department of the Environment, Health, and Natural Resources
North Carolina Public Health Awareness Program
Partnership for Prevention
Public Health Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Food and Drug Administration
Health Resources and Services Administration
National Cancer Institute
National Center for Health Statistics
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Office of Minority Health
Office of Public Health and Science
U.S. Department of Transportation
Washington State Board of Health
West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Reprints and negatives of grand prize-winning photos are available.

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