Press Releases

Washington, DC (July 16, 2010)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) honored 24 health departments across the country last night at its 2010 annual conference for implementing programs that demonstrate exemplary and replicable outcomes. Each project receiving a Model Practice award was reviewed by a committee of peers (other local health department professionals) and selected from a group of 93 applications. More »

Washington, DC (July 8, 2010)
Join hundreds of local health officials and invited guests at the 2010 National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Annual Conference as they gather to discuss the latest public health developments in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to sessions on local health department-community partnerships, health disparities, health reform, and public health accreditation (due to roll out nationally next year), conference attendees will hear keynote addresses from three current federal health officials and three dynamic thought leaders who specialize in health topics. More »

Washington, DC (July 1, 2010)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials hosted a Capitol Hill briefing yesterday highlighting the devastating effect of job losses on one of the nation’s most important sectors: local health departments. Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Chairman of the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, recognized the importance of restoring the 23,000 local public health jobs that have been lost from January 2008 to December 2009, saying that these men and women represent one of our nation’s most valuable resources for prevention. More »

Washington, DC (June 28, 2010)
Carol Moehrle, district director of Public Health – Idaho North Central District in Lewiston, ID, will formally assume the duties of President of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) during the association’s annual meeting in Memphis, TN, in July. Lillian Shirley, director of the Multnomah County Health Department in Portland, OR, will assume the office of President-Elect. John Wiesman, director of Clark County Public Health in Vancouver, WA, will take office as newly-elected Vice President. More »

Washington, DC (June 24, 2010)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials will host a Capitol Hill briefing with Congressman Robert Andrews (D-NJ) and public health leaders on the need to save local health department jobs on June 30. More »

Washington, DC (June 21, 2010)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), whose vision is health, equity, and well-being for all people in their communities through public health policies and service, commends the Administration for allocating $250 million from the FY2010 Prevention and Public Health Fund to important new initiatives. More »  

Washington, DC (May 24, 2010)
A just-completed analysis of a new survey on local health department job losses illustrates the uphill battle that local health departments continue to fight as they struggle to keep Americans safe and provide basic disease prevention and emergency preparedness services in the face of budget cuts. The full report, which expands on preliminary survey results released by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) in March, found that from January 2008 to December 2009, local health departments lost 23,000 jobs to layoffs and attrition, roughly 15 percent of the entire local health department workforce. More »

Washington, DC (April 5, 2010)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) joins the American Public Health Association in celebrating National Public Health Week, which runs through Sunday, April 11. This annual recognition of the public health field’s mission to protect and improve our nation’s health is always an opportunity to celebrate advancements in public health, assess our nation’s current public health status, and highlight the importance of taking action to address the health challenges facing individuals and families in our communities. More »

Washington, DC (March 22, 2010)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), whose vision is health, equity, and well-being for all people in their communities through public health policies and service, applauds Congress for their perseverance towards improving the nation’s health through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The landmark health reform legislation passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate makes significant investments in population-based prevention activities and recognizes the unique role played by local public health departments while expanding access to affordable care for millions of individuals and families. More »

Washington, DC (March 10, 2010)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) has received a $300,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to mobilize local health department (LHD) teams across the Southeast to support local level policy changes that promote healthy eating and active living to reduce the burden of childhood obesity. The grant was one of seven awarded by RWJF through its Leadership for Healthy Communities national program that assists state and local leaders in their efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. More »

Washington, DC (March 1, 2010)
New data being released today illustrate the uphill battle that local public health departments are fighting as they struggle to provide Americans with basic disease prevention and emergency preparedness services in the face of budget cuts. The latest job loss survey by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) found that local health departments lost 8,000 jobs in the second half of 2009—compounding the loss of another 8,000 positions in the first half of the year. And a new report from Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) underscores the survey results, finding that federal spending for public health has been flat for nearly five years while states around the country cut nearly $392 million for public health programs. More »

Washington, DC (February 17, 2010)
Today's release of the County Health Rankings—the first set of reports to rank the overall health of every county in all 50 states by the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provides counties with a useful set of comparative metrics which have the potential to stimulate action nationwide. The Rankings highlight the need for people and organizations from all sectors of each county—public, private, educational, non-profit, media or philanthropic—to work deliberately and collaboratively to improve the public's health through policies, programs, and services. More »

Washington, DC (February 11, 2010)
Join hundreds of local health officials and invited guests at the 2010 Public Health Preparedness Summit (www.phprep.org) in Atlanta, GA, as they gather to discuss lessons learned from H1N1, innovative approaches to disaster preparedness, strategies to target at-risk and minority populations when creating disaster response plans, and many other related topics. Media are invited to join conference attendees as they hear from four current federal health officials, a non-profit leader, and a bestselling author over the course of three days. More »

Atlanta, GA (February 5, 2010)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD), the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), and the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) are announcing 40 U.S. communities that have been selected in 23 states and in one territory to advance the nation's efforts to prevent chronic diseases and related risk factors through a locally collaborative approach.  This approach, called Action Communities for Health, Innovation, and EnVironmental changE (ACHIEVE), is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Healthy Communities Program and receives technical assistance from the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE). More »

Washington, DC (December 15, 2009)
The report card on state readiness to respond to public health emergencies, issued today by Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, sounds a warning. Serious underlying gaps have been exposed in the nation's ability to respond to public health emergencies. The economic crisis is straining an already fragile public health system. The nation's local health departments serve on the front lines of public health emergency response. They detect and stop outbreaks of disease and distribute and administer vaccines. Budget cuts and layoffs make it difficult for health departments to keep communities safe and prepared for inevitable public health crises. Preparedness is an ongoing commitment and local health departments need consistent, sustained funding to ensure continuous improvement. More »

Washington, DC (September 21, 2009)
Local health departments—the public agencies that work on-the-ground to safeguard their communities against the H1N1 flu virus and other threats to public health—sustained accelerated job losses during the first half of 2009, a new survey shows. Because of budget-related cuts, city, county, and other local health departments eliminated 8,000 staff positions between January and June, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). This loss compounds the disappearance of 7,000 positions in 2008, determined by a previous NACCHO survey, the results of which were announced in January.  Departments lost more jobs in the first six months of 2009 than in all of 2008. More »

Washington, DC (September 17, 2009)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) applauds today's release by the United States Department of Health and Human Services of economic stimulus funds for prevention of chronic disease, known as the Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative. The $373 million announced today, the first installment of a planned $650 million initiative, will enable 30-40 communities nationwide to begin making major changes that have been proven to help people eat better, lose weight, exercise more, and avoid tobacco use. More »

Washington, DC (September 15, 2009)
Today, NACCHO named a new network of Advanced Practice Centers that will provide health departments across the country with preparedness training and tools that can be quickly and easily integrated into local plans, procedures, and practices to respond to a possible H1N1 pandemic and any other health emergency that may arise. More »

Washington, DC (August 5, 2009)
Bruce Dart, director of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department in Lincoln, NE, formally assumed the duties of President of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) this week at the Association's annual meeting in Orlando, FL. Also assuming office were Carol Moehrle, district director of the North Central District Health Department in Lewiston, ID, as President-Elect, and Lillian Shirley, director of the Multnomah County Health Department in Portland, OR. More »

Washington, DC (July 22, 2009)
Join hundreds of local health officials and invited guests at the 2009 National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Annual Conference as they gather to discuss the latest public health developments in Orlando, Florida. Local health departments across the country have been forced to deal with budgetary, program, and staffing cutbacks this year and will discuss strategies for dealing with these challenges, especially while responding to a widespread outbreak of H1N1 influenza. In addition to sessions on health equity, food safety, disaster preparedness and federal-state-local public health partnerships, conference attendees will hear keynote addresses from two current federal health officials and Wal-Mart's top health and wellness executive. More »

Washington, DC (July 15, 2009)
On the heels of last week's recommendations made by President Obama's food safety working group, today the Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response (CIFOR) released its Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response. Along with other organizations, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) was instrumental in development of the guidelines, which will assist local, state and federal agencies in preventing and managing foodborne disease outbreaks through planning, detection, investigation, control and prevention. More »

Washington, DC (July 8, 2009)
An article published this week in Health Affairs heightens the need to address workforce and funding constraints that are jeopardizing local health departments (LHDs) across the country. The RAND Corporation concluded that there was significant variation among local health departments' provision of immediate, online information on H1N1 influenza. We disagree with the authors' sole measure of performance—the speed with which state and local health departments posted information to their Web sites during the 24 hours after a public health emergency was declared by federal officials. More »

Washington, DC (April 28, 2009)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) is being honored by the Society of National Association Publications (SNAP) at its 29th Annual EXCEL Awards, which recognize the best and the brightest in association media and publishing. More »

Washington, DC (April 27, 2009)
As of this morning, 20 cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus have been confirmed in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Local health departments in New York City; San Diego and Imperial Counties in California; Guadalupe County, TX; Lorain County, OH; and Dickinson County, KS, are responding to existing outbreaks and taking measures to prevent further spread, while others are taking measures to detect new cases early and inform people how to stay safe. The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) can provide the media with expert commentary on the national outbreak and how local health departments are responding.  NACCHO's members are leaders in health departments across the country and many of them have been working around the clock to mount a response against the virus. Our media specialists can help connect you with national and local experts to speak to this outbreak. More »

Washington, DC (April 17, 2009)
Recent Salmonella outbreaks involving peanut butter and fresh produce underscore the need to repair gaps in state and local food safety programs and integrate them better with federal food safety efforts, according to a new report prepared with extensive input from state and local officials, including the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).  The report calls for leadership by Congress and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to build an integrated national food safety system that makes effective use of the best science and all available public resources to prevent foodborne illness. More »

Washington, DC (February 18, 2009)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) commends the U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration for including $1 billion for prevention and wellness in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009. These funds will benefit the public's health by adding or restoring public health jobs and ensuring the operation of prevention programs that keep health care costs in check. More »

Washington, DC (February 9, 2009)
“A job in a local health department benefits the economy in three ways,” reports Robert M. Pestronk, executive director of NACCHO, as the U.S. Senate prepares to strip $5.8 billion for prevention and wellness from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. “Local health department staff spend their salaries locally. They serve residents of their communities who have lost their jobs. And they create a foundation for healthier communities and families that is essential to economic recovery and workforce productivity, whether by delivering immunizations to prevent disease or acting successfully to reduce obesity, smoking, or diabetes.” NACCHO urges Congress to preserve the House-passed funding for prevention that will save jobs in public health, a critical area of public service.  More »

Washington, DC (January 15, 2009)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) was encouraged to learn today that the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act introduced by the House Appropriations Committee includes a strong prevention and wellness component. The bill, which includes $550 billion in spending and $275 billion in tax cuts, calls for a $3 billion investment aimed at fighting chronic and other preventable diseases. More»

Washington, DC (January 9, 2009)
In late December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a notice advising public health officials that a very high percentage of the dominant influenza virus strain this season is resistant to treatment with the antiviral drug (Tamiflu®) due to a genetic mutation. Doctors have been urged to test suspected flu viruses to see what strain they are in order to avoid prescribing treatments that would likely be unsuccessful, but public health experts say that the situation is a good reminder of the importance of getting vaccinated against the flu. More »

Washington, DC (December 10, 2008)
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) today announced a donation of up to one million doses of FluMist® (Influenza Virus Vaccine Live, Intranasal) by MedImmune in a partnership aimed at increasing influenza awareness and vaccinations in underserved communities and populations. NACCHO will make these donated doses of vaccine available to selected state and local health departments around the country starting this month. More »

Washington, DC (December 9, 2008)
The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) report card on state readiness to respond to public health emergencies, issued today, sounds a warning that funding cuts threaten to undermine the strides in national preparedness made since 9/11. Although great progress has been made on both the state and local levels, ongoing budget cuts jeopardize the ability of our nation’s first responders to protect the communities they serve. More »

Washington, DC (November 12, 2008)
Robert M. (Bobby) Pestronk, MPH, officially assumed his duties as NACCHO Executive Director today, succeeding Patrick Libbey.  Pestronk, who is NACCHO's immediate past president, was previously Health Officer for Genesee County, MI, where he protected and improved the health of the County's 430,000 residents in partnership with community members. As the director of the Genesee County Health Department, a position he held since 1986, Pestronk administered clinical, regulatory, and other human service programs in the areas of personal, community, behavioral, and environmental health. More »

Washington, DC (September 30, 2008)
If a bioterror attack, flu pandemic, or other public health emergency hit the United States tomorrow, would state and local health agencies be prepared? Could they quickly identify the threat and take the actions needed to protect the public? A new report, marking the conclusion of National Preparedness Month, says "yes." Public Health Emergency Preparedness: Six Years of Achievement, shows how state and local public health agencies have used six years of federal funding to turn the previously neglected U.S. public health system into a strong, coordinated, agile mechanism for protecting the health of the public. More »