Southbury First Selectman Ed Edelson makes a guest appearance on a professionally facilitated YouTube video, as part of CT State Department of Public Health’s “LEAD Public Health” Initiative, funded through the Aspen Institute. Edelson had participated in Pomperaug Health District’s “LEAD Public Health” open house forum last September, along with local health director Neal Lustig, Katharine Lewis, CT state deputy commissioner of public health, Medical Reserve Corps volunteers, first responders, registered sanitarians, emergency preparedness professionals, and school superintendents, to discuss essential functions of public health agencies at the state and local levels. The purpose of LEAD Public Health forums, hosted at various venues throughout CT, was “to create a demand among municipal leaders, legislators and the public for efficient and effective public health services for every Connecticut resident,” according to Commissioner Lewis. “From smoke-free public places to immunization clinics; from clean drinking water to “Click it or Ticket” reminders on the highway, public health is everywhere – protecting Connecticut’s health by safeguarding the places where we live, learn, work, and play,” she says.
As a follow up to the forums, a five minute YouTube video was created with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, featuring local health directors; CT Business and Industry Association leaders; a CT State Representative and Public Health Committee member; and the state health department’s Community Health and Prevention section chief. Edelson was invited to join this select group of dignitaries, each of whom shared their perspective on “what public health means to me.” Edelson outlined four key components, as they relate to his governance of Southbury and the town’s association with the Pomperaug Health District: emergency preparedness and response; environmental peace of mind, with regard to food/water/restaurant regulations; quality of life and vaccination; and chronic disease mitigation through community health initiatives. The Department of Public Health video can be viewed at: www.facebook.com/SouthburyFirstSelectman, or by searching “why public health matters to me” on the YouTube website. Viewers are encouraged to join the conversation by visiting: www.facebook.com/dphct.