Public health is our first line of defense in responding to bioterrorism and in disaster preparedness.

Public Health Funding Crisis

Our public health system is at a crisis point. With the health of our families and communities at stake, we cannot afford any more cuts to public health funding. Counties across the state are proposing dangerous cuts to public health funding, cuts that would leave our health system unprepared for disasters and incapable of maintaining current services like child immunizations and protecting the safety of our food and water supplies.

It is absolutely critical that we have an adequate and long-term stable funding source for public health. With the continuing threats of terrorist attacks, natural disasters and pandemic flu, we simply cannot wait.

Please take a few moments today to visit our ‘Take Action’ page and help us fight these dangerous funding cuts.

About Public Health

Public health is our first line of defense in responding to bioterrorism and in disaster preparedness. Public health is also the center of a quality health care system and is the most cost effective system for disease prevention and health improvement. Public health and public health nurses work every day to keep our communities healthy and safe through programs like communicable disease control, maternity and infant services, biohazard detection and response, and prevention of chronic disease.

Through decades of neglect and erosion in funding, the ability of our local public health departments to perform these core functions has been drastically reduced. We must act now to restore adequate funding for these critical tasks and stop any more irresponsible cuts from happening.

For more information about the importance of public health and its role in the welfare of our communities, please visit the ‘More Information’ page.

With the health of our families and communities at stake, we cannot afford any more cuts to public health funding.

WSNA's Efforts

Public health nurses are on the frontlines of the system and witness every day the positive impact that public health has across communities throughout the State. As registered nurses, we also witness firsthand the consequences of an inadequate public health infrastructure on the entire health care system.

Public health funding along with designating public health nurses and nursing services as an essential service is a top legislative and health policy priority for WSNA.

More information