Genesee County Health Department

Better Life Through Better Health

Date:                        March 19, 2009

Release Date:        Immediate Release

End Date:               March 31, 2009

Contact Person:    April Swartout, MPA,

                                Public Health Program Coordinator     

Phone:                    (810) 424-4441

RE:                          Genesee County Health Department’s 4^th Annual Public

                                Health Week Conference “You are Public Health:

                                        Partnering for Healthier Communities”

            The Genesee County Health Department will be hosting its 4^th Annual Public Health Week Conference on April 1-2, 2009, on the Flint Cultural Center campus, 1120 E. Kearsley St., in Flint, Michigan.

            The conference is entitled “You are Public Health: Partnering for Healthier Communities”.  Its goal is to encourage community partnership efforts to improve the public’s health. The conference will feature five nationally-recognized keynote speakers: Jay Bernhardt, PhD, MPH, CDC National Center for Health Marketing; Ruth Ann Norton, Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning; Michael Harris, PhD, Kettering University; Robert Pestronk, M.P.H., National Association County and City Health Officials; and Tony Award winning actress, Sarah Jones.

The conference will also feature four themed tracks with breakout sessions led by local experts as well as speakers from across the US. These sessions will address contemporary challenges including environmental health issues, community partnerships, social justice and healthy lifestyles.

The conference provides an opportunity for health, legal, environmental, and business professionals, as well as community residents and members of community-based organizations, to explore community partnerships and discuss current issues important to public health.  Attendees will be able to use the information from this event to strengthen their own roles, and those of their organizations, in improving health and quality of life in their communities.

The cost to attend is $50 if participants register by March 25, 2009, and includes the two day conference, meals, and evening networking reception. On-site registration will be available for $60. Registration and conference materials can be found at http://www.gchd.us.  Scholarships are also available for the conference.