Welcome from the Secretary of Health

As Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, I oversee an agency that impacts every part of a person's life - from the very beginning of life to the very end, all the while ensuring the health and safety of every Pennsylvanian.

In the past 103 years, the Department of Health's mission has evolved to include not only preventing disease, but also promoting healthy behaviors and improving the quality of health care. The Department consists of dedicated public health professionals who support programs to help people quit smoking, recover from drug and alcohol addiction, manage diabetes, and learn about prevention for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. These public health professionals also ensure schools are staffed with qualified nurses and mothers can provide nutritious meals for their children through the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. They inspect hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities to ensure the highest quality and safest care to the patients as well as helping everyone be prepared for a public health emergency, like a flu pandemic.

Currently, the department plays a leading role in several of Governor Rendell's Prescription for Pennsylvania health care reform initiatives, which aim to improve quality, reduce cost and expand access to health care. The Department is specifically engaged in implementation of the Clean Indoor Air Act; the elimination of hospital acquired infections; and the removal of health disparities through improving health care access.

This is just some of the work that your Health Department does each day - helping Pennsylvanians live healthier, safer, longer lives. To find out more about important health topics and services offered by the Department of Health, please explore this web site or call 1-877-PA-HEALTH.

Everette James
Secretary of Health
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania