What is Public Health?
Promote Optimal Health
Public Health covers a variety of activities designed to prevent the spread of disease and promote optimal health. It has been defined as “the art and science of maintaining, protecting and prolonging the health of the people through organized community effort”.
Promote A Healthy Community
Our activities primarily concentrate on prevention and education services to promote a healthy community. Most public health activities within a community are initiated by the local health department, with the approval of the board of health within its jurisdiction, which is the local health district.
Vision
To become the healthiest community through equitabe prevention, education, and environmental health services.
Mission
Our mission is to advance and improve our community and environment through quality public health.
Essential Services for Public Health
- Monitor health status to identify community health problems.
- Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community.
- Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues.
- Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems.
- Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts.
- Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety.
- Link people to needed personal health services and assure the provisions of health care when otherwise unavailable.
- Assure a competent Public Health care workforce.
- Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services.
- Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems.
Accountable
We make evidence-based decisions and follow through on our commitments.
Collaborative
We work as a team to provide innovative solutions.
Inclusive
We provide fair and equitable access to attain optimal health.
Customer focused
We understandthe needs of our customers and go above and beyond to serve them.
Respectful
We demonstrate care, concern for others, and ensure everyone feels valued.
Our History
1834
Cincinnati and Columbus formally established boards of health.
1852
Any Ohio city permitted to establish a board of health and city councils allowed to formulate regulations.
1875
Township trustees given limited authority to prevent spread of small pox through quarantine.
1886
State Board of Health organized.
1893
All municipalities required to establish a board of health.
1910
City of Mansfield starts its own City Health Department.
1919
Hughes Act and Griswold Amendment
1963
State director of health to be appointed by governor and term to be concurrent with the governor.
1985
Standards established for local health departments.
1985
Local health departments permitted to charge costs for all state-required environmental health programs.
In 1893, the State of Ohio required all municipalities to establish a Board of Health (although a “Health Department” was not required).
In 1919, the Hughes Act and Griswold Amendment created city and general health districts with varying restrictions on full-time and part-time personnel. Our Local Health Department was ahead of that Act, starting in 1910 in the City of Mansfield to protect and promote the health and welfare of the public. Our Public Health system evolved to include not just the City of Mansfield but all of Richland County, although our City and County Health Boards did not merge until 1986.
From the 1920s to the 1950s the Health Department was located in a house, the Ohio Theater, and City Hall. In 1959 the Health Department moved to its first official home when the city bought the Bristor Mansion at 600 West Third Street. A staff of 22 provided services to 82,000 residents. In 1980, the Health Clinic moved from Third Street to the Beatty TB Clinic on Lexington Avenue, although the rest of the Health Department continued to be located at Third Street.
In 1992, after four years of planning, the Health Board approved construction of additions to the Beatty Clinic to put all departments under one roof on the corner of Lexington Avenue and Sterkel Blvd. The move to the new building was completed in 1993.
The name has changed many times, from the Mansfield Health Department to Mansfield/Richland County Health Department to Mansfield/Ontario/Richland County Health Department (when Ontario obtained city status) and in 2014 to Richland Public Health and the adoption of a new logo.
Today, Richland Public Health includes all of Richland County with the exception of the City of Shelby which has its own City Health Department with a staff of two employees. The history of public health and boards of health reflects the growth and urbanization of Ohio.