2011! SMOKING CHANGE

So the NEW YEAR is here and look it's already Tuesday and Governor's have changed hands in a handful of states and the HOUSE is gearing up to strike down the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)...the outlook is bright! ;) Seriously though, change is always going to happen no matter if there is a new year or not and it is one of those things we all have to deal with. I have gone through a lot of change in my life and is partially why I choose the career field I am in, because health care is always changing. Before PPACA, health care went through constant change. Everything from reimbursement models, quality measures, how and where healthcare is delivered, etc. If your somebody reading today and are thinking of public health and its impact on our everyday activities and health, just think of smoking. 1964 was the first time that the Surgeon General declared that smoking causes cancer, yet it wasn't until the middle of the past decade that smoking bans and culture around the health effects of smoking started to really change. Public health change can take time, other issues may take shorter amounts, either way public health is essential to our daily living. Everything from drinking water, to street signs, to the food you might be eating while reading this blog.

I hope you consider a career in public health and have taken the time to look over Iowa's College of Public Health website to read over some of the awesome things we are doing to change public health now and for the future!

Ryan

PS - The picture is from New Year's Eve :)