Public health and its benefits to Missourians are not well understood by many. Some people associate public health with immunizations for children and inspection of restaurants. Others see public health as the dedicated “county nurse” visiting older people in their homes. But few realize the broad range of activities and responsibilities for which public health is accountable.

Actually, public health is a sophisticated science for identifying and dealing with real and potential health threats to the community. Public health's primary purposes are to improve the health of communities, to prevent disease from occurring, and to save lives.