- About Us
- Members Only
These are the essential purposes and activities of local health departments. Prevention activities focus on conditions such as lead poisoning, injuries, and obesity; communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza, or food-borne illnesses; and chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Promotion focuses on health education about the value of nutrition, fitness, safety, immunization, pre-natal and early childhood care, and other healthy behaviors. Protection policy focuses on the elimination of health hazards from our food, air and water supplies, including such activities as the inspection of restaurants or the regulation of toxins such as lead or radon in housing. Each local health department in NY State has a website with information about its specific activities and services.