Press Release - Praises Public Health Officials
OFFICE OF LT. GOV. BARBARA O'BRIEN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 1, 2008
CONTACT:
Ellen Dumm, 303 866-6361 (office), 303 829-0194 (cell), ellen.dumm@state.co.us
Lt. Gov. O'Brien Praises Public Health Officials for Revitalization Efforts
Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien praised Colorado's public health leaders today for their efforts in revitalizing Colorado's public health system.
Lt. Gov. O'Brien spoke today to the more than 300 participants attending a public health summit titled: From Vision to Action. The purpose of the two-day workshop is to bring together professionals from Colorado's public health system to define basic public health services that should be available to all Coloradans and to ensure a more efficient collaboration between state and local health agencies.
"In these uncertain economic times, we know we have to provide comprehensive public health service efficiently and effectively to everyone in the state,” said Lt. Gov. O'Brien. "Colorado has a real culture of health and we can reinforce that environment by providing some true innovation in our public health system."
Lt. Gov. O'Brien praised Colorado's public health leadership for spearheading the discussions leading up to the summit. The Lt. Governor extended specific praise to Chris Wiant, President and CEO of Caring for Colorado Foundation, Dr. Ned Calonge, Chief Medical Officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Public Health Alliance of Colorado.
By streamlining the system, Colorado hopes to put both public and private resources to their best use in the public health system.
The summit grew out of legislation (SB 194) last year to create an improvement plan for public health in Colorado. It is the culmination of a series of discussions beginning in the summer of 2007, created by the Caring for Colorado Foundation, CDPHE and the Public Health Alliance of Colorado.