What We Do

What is Public Health?

If you want to help others on a local, national or even a worldwide level, than consider a professional career in Public Health, and your local health department is a great place to start!

Public Health encompasses a wide range of professions, and if you are interested in learning new things, PH offers an unparalleled number of educational opportunities that can, in most instances, be pursued while working.

Public Health is everything to do with diagnosing, analyzing, reporting, monitoring, treating, educating, researching, managing, and enforcing and protecting the overall health of the general public. A sub-category of Public Health is Environmental Public Health. This specifically addresses the relationship between humans and the environment. It focuses on areas like food safety, water and septic management, animal or insect borne diseases, air quality, etc.

What does a Public Health professional do?

The list of jobs for Public Health Professionals is extensive. This is an ever growing and changing field. Concerns over the health of our children, the environment, bioterrorism, substance abuse (including Meth), and past epidemics, such as SARS and concerns with the avian bird flu virus (H1N5), are driving the demand and interest in Public Health.

In addition to clinical positions and environmental positions, public health allocates resources for prevention and education to promote healthy lifestyles and decrease the rate of disease in its local population. Health promotion staff, based in the health department work closely with school systems, workplaces, and join up with other community based organizations to really make a difference in people's lives and in the future of our children.

Our nurses and doctors take care of individuals that have no where else to turn to for medical care. Public Health leads the national effort to immunize children and prevent widespread instances of diseases such as mumps and measles. Our mothers and babies are healthier with the care they receive in maternity clinic, and family planning efforts help our teens and young adults practice safe measures. Sexually transmitted diseases are reported to us as well as a long list of diseases public health tracks across the nation to keep us all well.

If you're traveling to another country, it is the health department that provides the medication to prevent yellow fever, malaria, and other diseases found abroad.

We also provide a full-service dental clinic for children who have Health Choice, Medicaid and/or limited insurance coverage.

"A Day in the Life" describes how Public Health influences daily life activities.

What jobs are available to me at the Appalachian District?

North Carolina State Division of Public Health officials estimate that 25% of the public health workforce will retire within the next 5 years. Many individuals who joined the public health workforce in the 70's and 80's are reaching their 20 years plus service and are using their retirement benefits and leaving public health. Many job positions are available throughout the state and Appalachian District job openings are listed at the NC Employment Security Commission.

To apply for an open position listed on the NC Employment Security website, a State employment application must be completed and turned into the health department posting the position. North Carolina State Employee Application

Employment

The Health Department employs people in the following areas:
  • Health Care
    • Physicians
    • Dentists
    • Nurses
    • Medical/Dental Assistants
    • Managers
    • Social Workers
    • Clerical Staff
  • Nutritional Services
    • Nutritionist
    • Interviewer
  • Health Promotion
    • Health Educators
  • Environmental Health
    • EH Specialists
    • Managers
  • Other
    • Technology
    • Statistics
    • Epidemiology

Intern Program

The Health Department has an intern program for students & individuals interested in public health and with our partnership with ASU, some degree programs offer college credit for the intern time. Please contact either your college professor, or call the health department for further information.

Volunteers

Volunteers help in a variety of ancillary functions. They translate for our non-English speaking clients (with training), they entertain our small ones with fun and games during maternity clinic, help organize our educational materials, and quickly become a valuable part of our organization! Contact the Nursing Supervisor in your county for more information

Environmental Health

Consists primarily of a triangle of three sub disciplines: public health, occupational health, and environmental protection. Preparation for careers in Environmental Health calls for a broad-based background in subjects such as biology, chemistry, and mathematics, to name a few. Professionals in the field draw on this training to develop, implement, evaluate, and promote methods for managing indoor and outdoor environmental factors which may adversely affect humans and other organisms.

Critical Shortage:

Critical shortages of qualified environmental professionals with graduate and undergraduate degrees have created extensive career opportunities nationwide in both the private and public sectors.

University's with specialized Environmental Health degrees:

Other related degrees that are considered for employment in Environmental Health: Biology, Chemistry, Micro Biology, Soil Science, Geology, Engineering and other degrees with appropriate science focus.

Once hired, the individual must attend a course of study provided by the State of North Carolina, The Centralized Intern Program

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