Public Health protects the health of the public by investigating the sources of communicable disease, assisting in locating others who may have been exposed and preventing further spread.
By investigating communicable diseases, Public Health nurses safeguard the community by reducing the spread of disease. Disease prevention and control is a cooperative effort involving health care providers, local and state health department personnel and members of the community. Our goals are:
To promptly investigate disease outbreaks and implement control measures to minimize further transmission of disease
To monitor disease reporting by physicians and laboratories in order to detect trends
To provide a channel of communication between the California Department of Public Health, private physicians, and hospital and occupational infection control personnel and strengthen disease control efforts
To explain public health interventions and disseminate health education messages to the community in order to enhance disease control efforts
To ensure that all our investigation, surveillance and interventions are performed with the strictest attention to confidentiality and personal privacy.
The California Code of Regulations (Title 17) specifies diseases that are reportable. All physicians, health care providers and laboratory personnel are required by law to submit reportable disease information to Public Health.