Florida Department of Health
Encyclopedia
The Florida Department of Health is responsible for protecting the public health
and safety of the residents and visitors of the State of Florida
. It is a cabinet level agency of the state government, headed by a State surgeon general
who reports to the Governor. The department has its headquarters in Tallahassee
.
.
The Florida Department of Health operates County Health Departments in all 67 of the State's Counties. The agency employs more than 17,000 persons. It has worked on two year old immunizations, tobacco control, and statewide preparedness response efforts.
The Florida Department of Health is responsible for public health
, including:
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
and safety of the residents and visitors of the State of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. It is a cabinet level agency of the state government, headed by a State surgeon general
State Surgeon General
A State Surgeon General is the operational head and senior spokesperson on public health in a single state of the United States of America, the state equivalent of the Surgeon General of the United States....
who reports to the Governor. The department has its headquarters in Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
.
History
During the 1996 legislative session, the beleaguered Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services was reconstructed as two entities: the Department of Health and the Florida Department of Children and FamiliesFlorida Department of Children and Families
The Florida Department of Children and Families is a state agency of Florida. Its headquarters are in Room 202 in Building 1 of the 1317 Winewood Boulevard complex in Tallahassee...
.
The Florida Department of Health operates County Health Departments in all 67 of the State's Counties. The agency employs more than 17,000 persons. It has worked on two year old immunizations, tobacco control, and statewide preparedness response efforts.
The Florida Department of Health is responsible for public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
, including:
- EpidemiologyEpidemiologyEpidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
- Investigating foodborne illnessFoodborne illnessFoodborne illness is any illness resulting from the consumption of contaminated food, pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food, as well as chemical or natural toxins such as poisonous mushrooms.-Causes:Foodborne illness usually arises from improper handling, preparation, or...
and zoonoticZoonosisA zoonosis or zoonoseis any infectious disease that can be transmitted from non-human animals to humans or from humans to non-human animals . In a study of 1415 pathogens known to affect humans, 61% were zoonotic...
and waterborne diseasesWaterborne diseasesWaterborne diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms which are directly transmitted when contaminated fresh water is consumed. Contaminated fresh water, used in the preparation of food, can be the source of foodborne disease through consumption of the same microorganisms... - Emergency preparedness and bioterrorismBioterrorismBioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
- Controlling communicable disease
- Health promotionHealth promotionHealth promotion has been defined by the World Health Organization's 2005 Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion in a Globalized World as "the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health"...
and educationHealth educationHealth education is the profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health... - School health. The department manages the school health services program in cooperation with the Florida Department of EducationFlorida Department of EducationThe Florida Department of Education is the state education agency of Florida. It governs public education and manages funding and testing for local educational agencies . It is headquartered in the Turlington Building in Tallahassee.The Florida Commissioner of Education manages the day-to-day...
. Funding comes from a variety of sources, including DOH and local school districts. - Women's healthWomen's healthWomen's health refers to health issues specific to human female anatomy. These often relate to structures such as female genitalia and breasts or to conditions caused by hormones specific to, or most notable in, females. Women's health issues include menstruation, contraception, maternal health,...
- Public health dentistry and oral health
- NutritionNutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
- VaccinationVaccinationVaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
s/preventable disease - Eliminating health disparitiesHealth disparitiesHealth equity refers to the study of differences in the quality of health and health care across different populations....
- Provision of vital recordVital recordVital records are records of life events kept under governmental authority, including birth certificates, marriage licenses, and death certificates. In some jurisdictions, vital records may also include records of civil unions or domestic partnerships....
s - Environmental healthEnvironmental healthEnvironmental health is the branch of public health that is concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment that may affect human health...
- Medical Quality Assurance
- EpilepsyEpilepsyEpilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
- Chronic disease
- Spinal cord injurySpinal cord injuryA spinal cord injury refers to any injury to the spinal cord that is caused by trauma instead of disease. Depending on where the spinal cord and nerve roots are damaged, the symptoms can vary widely, from pain to paralysis to incontinence...
prevention programs
Organization
- State Surgeon General's Office
- Executive Staff Office
- General CounselGeneral CounselA general counsel is the chief lawyer of a legal department, usually in a corporation or government department. The term is most used in the United States...
- Inspector GeneralInspector GeneralAn Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
- Legislative Planning
- Communications
- Equal OpportunityEqual opportunityEqual opportunity, or equality of opportunity, is a controversial political concept; and an important informal decision-making standard without a precise definition involving fair choices within the public sphere...
- Minority Health
- Deputy Secretary for Health
- Bureau of Laboratory Services
- Office of Public Health Nursing
- Office of Public Health Research
- Institutional Review BoardInstitutional review boardAn institutional review board , also known as an independent ethics committee or ethical review board , is a committee that has been formally designated to approve, monitor, and review biomedical and behavioral research involving humans with the aim to protect the rights and welfare of the...
- Division of Emergency Medical Operations
- Bureau of Emergency Medical ServicesEmergency medical servicesEmergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...
- Office of Emergency Operations
- Office of Public Health Preparedness
- Emergency Medical Education
- Bureau of Emergency Medical Services
- Division of Health Access and TobaccoTobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
- BrainAcquired brain injuryAn acquired brain injury is brain damage caused by events after birth, rather than as part of a genetic or congenital disorder such as fetal alcohol syndrome, perinatal illness or perinatal hypoxia. ABI can result in cognitive, physical, emotional, or behavioural impairments that lead to permanent...
and Spinal Cord InjurySpinal cord injuryA spinal cord injury refers to any injury to the spinal cord that is caused by trauma instead of disease. Depending on where the spinal cord and nerve roots are damaged, the symptoms can vary widely, from pain to paralysis to incontinence... - Emergency Medical Education
- Health Professional Recruitment
- Rural Health
- Bureau of Statewide Pharmaceutical Services
- Local Health Councils
- Tobacco Prevention
- Injury PreventionInjury preventionInjury prevention are efforts to prevent or reduce the severity of bodily injuries caused by external mechanisms, such as accidents, before they occur. Injury prevention is a component of safety and public health, and its goal is to improve the health of the population by preventing injuries and...
- Brain
- Deputy State Health Officer
- County Health Departments
- Statewide Services Administrator
- Division of Environmental HealthEnvironmental healthEnvironmental health is the branch of public health that is concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment that may affect human health...
- Community Environmental Health
- Environmental Epidemiology
- Water Programs
- Facility Programs
- Radiation Control
- Onsite Sewage
- Division of Disease Control
- EpidemiologyEpidemiologyEpidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
- ImmunizationImmunizationImmunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an agent ....
- HIVHIVHuman immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus... - Sexually Transmitted DiseasesSexually transmitted diseaseSexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
- Tuberculosis ControlTuberculosis treatmentTuberculosis treatment refers to the medical treatment of the infectious disease tuberculosis .The standard "short" course treatment for TB is isoniazid, rifampicin , pyrazinamide, and ethambutol for two months, then isoniazid and rifampicin alone for a further four months...
and Refugee Health - A.G. Holley HospitalSunland HospitalSunland Hospital refers to a chain of defunct mental health facilities located throughout the state of Florida.Originally named the W. T. Edwards Tuberculosis Hospitals, the facilities were later remodeled into "Sunland Centers" with services for the mentally and physically disabled, specializing...
- Epidemiology
- Division of Family Health Services
- Mental HealthMental healthMental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
- Family and Community Health
- Chronic Disease Prevention
- WICSpecial Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and ChildrenThe Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children is a Federal assistance program of the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture for healthcare and nutrition of low-income pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and infants and children...
and Nutrition Services - Child Nutrition Programs
- Mental Health
- Deputy State Health Officer Children's Medical Services (CMS)
- Division of CMS Network
- Network AdministrationNetwork administratorA network administrator, network analyst or network engineer is a person responsible for the maintenance of computer hardware and software that comprises a computer network...
- Network Operations
- Network Administration
- Division of Prevention and Intervention
- Prevention and Early InterventionEarly Childhood InterventionEarly childhood intervention is a support system for children with developmental disabilities or delays and their families.The mission of Early Childhood Intervention is to assure that families who have children ages birth to three, with diagnosed disabilities, developmental delays or substantial...
- CPT/Special Technology
- Prevention and Early Intervention
- Division of CMS Network
- Deputy Secretary
- Division of Administration
- Budget
- Finance and Accounting
- General Services
- Human Resource Management
- Revenue Management
- Division of Medical Quality Assurance
- Management Services
- Operations
- Health Care Practitioner Regulation
- Board Directors
- Division of Disability DeterminationsDisability Determination ServicesDisability Determination Services, commonly called DDS, are state agencies, funded by the United States Federal Government. Their purpose is to make disability findings for the Social Security Administration....
- Medical Disability Administrative Services
- Medical Disability Information Services
- Medical Disability Program Services
- Medical Disability Program Operations
- Division of Information TechnologyInformation technologyInformation technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
- Application Development and Support
- Infrastructure and Support
- Planning and Quality Assurance
- Strategic Information Technologies
- Performance Improvement
- Planning, Evaluation and Data
- Division of Administration