Opinion | Public health is an investment worth making

For the first time in decades, Michigan lawmakers last year fully funded local public health in Michigan. We hope they do it again in 2025. 

For over 30 years, the state shorted its statutorily mandated contribution to the local public health programs that help keep our kids healthy, our food safe, our seniors secure, and so much more. Local public health leaders moved dollars from one pot to another, stitching together services and making tough choices to prioritize their work. 

So, the funding generosity of our leaders in 2024 was both a welcome affirmation of our mission and a needed break from years of budget struggles. It opened the door to an overdue conversation:  Who really benefits from local public health programs, anyway? 

It turns out, all of us do, whether we realize it or not. 

Individual health care is an issue at the household level, and it varies significantly by household and community. But public health is about our communities. It is about monitoring health trends, tracking and stopping the spread of communicable diseases, and other programs that affect broad swaths of people. 

Last year, for example, we were excited to see Michigan law changed to ensure every child gets a dental screening prior to starting school. Not every parent can afford regular oral exams for their kids. Tooth decay is the biggest chronic health disease among youngsters and is responsible for 51 million missed school hours around the nation each year. Getting every child an oral health exam as they enter kindergarten is a step toward addressing the problem.    

From inspecting on-site drinking water wells and septic systems to keeping new families healthy and fed, local public health programs ultimately touch the lives of everyone in Michigan, promoting conditions in which all people enjoy fuller, healthier lives.  

The programs delivering healthier communities number in the dozens and date back almost 100 years. The modern public health system, in Michigan and around the nation, was built over time as a response to threats that once plagued every community, shortening life spans and making daily life inherently dangerous. 

Remember cholera? Most Americans don’t, because that is what safe community drinking water programs were made for. How about polio? Smallpox? Community vaccination programs drove them into the history books of America. When you confidently go to a restaurant and don’t get a foodborne illness, when you enjoy safe drinking water, when you don’t have communicable diseases ravaging your community, thank a public health employee. 

Even when our work isn’t in the news, public health professionals are on the ground, working hard to improve the health of their community. They help prevent emergencies and play an essential role in disaster response. The truth is, people may not always notice our work, but the results are there: safe drinking water, clean restaurants, healthy babies and children, and so much more. Local public health programs are responsible for extending both the duration and quality of life for everyone, and they absolutely deserve public support.  

We have worked hard since the pandemic, connecting with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, to explain what we do and build relationships based on accountability, transparency, and trust. We look forward to continuing that work in the years ahead, and extending that awareness and support into every Michigan community. 

Investing in our work – by funding state and local budgets as well as by recognizing and understanding its value – is critical to Michigan’s future.