PUBLIC HEALTH DIVISIONAL MANAGEMENT

PROGRAM MISSION: To provide leadership and management to divisional programs to prevent health conditions that may affect the well being of the community and ensure the overall health and safety of the community.

These goals are accomplished through traditional public health services, which focus on the health of the community as a whole, in contrast to private sector medical care, which focuses on the health of individuals. While many public health services are provided on an individual basis, the services focus on improving or protecting the health and safety of the broader community. There are three general types of public health programs: programs that cannot easily or appropriately be provided by the private sector (such as communicable disease control or restaurant inspections); programs that the private sector traditionally has not provided (such as prenatal care or dental care for the indigent); and population-based preventive health measures (such as occupational health services and public education about good health habits). Another key role of public health programs is to monitor and assess the health status of the community, focusing particularly on communicable disease rates, maternal and infant health outcomes, and leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the community.

Unlike most other Virginia localities, Arlington has special legislation that permits it to administer public health services locally with the state paying its share of the Cooperative Health Budget to Arlington.

The following chart provides a summary of the budget for the Public Health Division. Expenditures are shown by program.

The budget for Divisional Management includes expenditures that directly support the programs of the Division, but are budgeted centrally in administration and not allocated to the program level. The Divisional Management staff consists of the County Health Officer; Public Health Division Chief; the Physician Supervisor (who provides management and supervision of the Division's clinical services as well as direct client services in a number of program areas); an Administrative Officer; a Nurse Manager; two Administrative Assistants who provide information and referral services to the public about the Division and direct support to several programs; and one Information Systems Analyst, to support VISION, the state-mandated automated system. Unallocated expenses ($1,669,383) directly supporting program activities include building and equipment rental ($919,551), telephone and utilities ($249,549), system-wide automation services and maintenance ($66,130), malpractice insurance ($211,600), postage ($20,000), building security ($1,215), recruitment expenses ($12,000) and physician and clinical services supervision ($189,338).

SIGNIFICANT PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

• Personnel decreases due to transfer of 1.0 FTE information technology position to the Automation Services Bureau in the Director's Office/Planning and Administration.

• Non-personnel increases primarily due to increases in liability insurance costs ($33,600), rent charges for 3033 Wilson Boulevard ($17,048), telephones ($10,104), and natural gas ($746).

• The Inter-Departmental Transfer ($82,223) is a credit from the Fire Department to reimburse for part of the cost of the Health Officer's salary.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES:

• Community providers satisfaction survey results will be available beginning in FY 2005