Public health is like the "health protection team" for our whole community. We work behind-the-scenes every day for everyone who lives, works, and plays across our 25 Southwest and South-Central Minnesota counties. Our goal is simple: protect and improve the health of our whole community so that every person has the chance to start healthy and stay healthy.

Think of us as your community's health helpers. We make sure your water is clean and safe to drink. We check that your food won't make you sick. We watch the air you breathe to keep it healthy. When storms, floods or other disasters come our way, we work with police, firefighters and community partners to keep everyone safe. Just like local farmers plan ahead for each season, we plan ahead to protect our community's health.

We're always watching out for health problems that could hurt people in our counties. If we find something wrong, we work together with schools, businesses, churches and community members to find ways to solve problems. This teamwork is what keeps our counties healthy and safe. Our job isn't to help people when they are already sick. We want to stop you from getting sick in the first place. This helps you avoid big medical bills and missed days at work or school. More importantly, it means you can spend time doing what really matters - being with the people you love.

We help everyone in our community, especially families and children. We teach kids how to make healthy choices. We check on babies to make sure they're growing well. We know that some health problems affect certain groups more than others, so we help connect people to the care they need.

When our communities are healthy and safe, life is better for everyone.

That's the power of public health!