TYLER, Texas — April 1 marks the start of National Public Health Week. In Tyler, several health care professionals came together on Monday to kick things off.
Representatives from the Northeast Texas Public Health District, Tyler City Council and UT Tyler started the day off right, as it marks the start of a week they’re passionate about. They ended their gathering with a mile-long walk around the Tyler Rose Garden.
NET Health CEO George Roberts said that the data backs up the fact that public health has made an impact.
"Since 1900, 30 years have been added to the average lifespan of Americans, 25 of those from public health initiatives such as clean water, safe food, and vaccinations," Roberts said.
This week, NET Health is paired with UT Tyler's School of Health Professions. Dean Dr. Theresa Byrd said she loves National Public Health Week because it brings light to a profession that sometimes goes unnoticed.
"Until COVID, people didn’t even really understand that public health was around. We really do like to keep ourselves under the radar because if we’re doing our job right we’re preventing things. So people sometimes don’t even notice we are there. But it does allow us to be in the spotlight a little bit," Byrd said.
While highlighting public health, she said UT Tyler and NET Health will have events, health fairs and guest speakers throughout the week. Byrd said it’s important for people to get involved because public health is different than just regular health care.
"In public health, our patient is the whole community. It’s the whole population and that's kind of exciting," Byrd said.