Healthy Practices. Healthy People. Healthy Places.  You may ask, what’s behind the Public Health Foundation’s new Vision Statement.  What does “Healthy Practices” mean and what does this have to do with PHF?

This past summer, I was pleased to be engaged with the PHF Board of Directors and staff as we revisited and refreshed our vision, mission, values, and strategic goals.  As we discussed PHF’s mission to improve the public’s health by strengthening the quality and performance of public health practice, we realized that our vision must reflect not only the desired outcome of “Healthy People” living in “Healthy Places,” but also what we believe it takes to create these conditions.  It became apparent that we must also focus our vision on “Healthy Practices.”

What do we mean by “Healthy Practices?”  Certainly, there are those individual practices that contribute to one’s own health. But, in the context of what PHF does and believes in, there are also those practices of individual public health workers and organizations that must be “healthy” if we are to improve the health of our communities and nation. 

In our broad vision of “Healthy Practices,” we see individuals and organizations using performance management and quality improvement techniques everyday with every activity.  Performance management and quality improvement must become part of our public health culture and daily practice if we truly wish to achieve an even greater vision of Healthy Practices, Healthy People, and Healthy Places.

As the Chair of PHF’s Board of Directors, I am excited to be a part of this new vision and direction for PHF. While we have been engaged in quality improvement and workforce development initiatives for many years, our new direction relates all of our efforts back to improving practice, and ultimately, community health outcomes.  With a high performing public health system, we believe we can and will achieve Healthy Practices, Healthy People, and Healthy Places.

Please share with us your thoughts and opinions on this and other hot public health topics by posting and subscribing to comments throughout PHF’s new website. 

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