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Along with cancer, obesity, infectious diseases, and bio-terrorism, one of the
health threats facing the United States is a shortage of Public
Health professionals. America will be short more than a quarter
of a million Public Health workers by 2020. That’s one-third
of the workforce we need.
Too few Public Health clinicians means less cancer screenings
and fewer immunizations. A shortage of epidemiologists makes it
harder to respond to food-borne outbreaks or to track emerging
infectious diseases such as MRSA (drug-resistant staph infections).
Events like September 11th and Hurricane Katrina demonstrated
the importance of Public Health workers when responding to natural
and man made emergencies.
Well-trained Public Health professionals are critical to protecting
the health of our communities and our world. If we don't ensure a new generation of Public Health professionals, we are risking the health of ourselves, our communities, and our world.
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