RD121 - 2014 Annual Report of the State Board of Health


Executive Summary:
Section 32.1-14 of the Code of Virginia requires that the State Board of Health shall submit an annual report to the Governor and General Assembly. According to statutory mandate, such report shall contain information on the Commonwealth's vital records and health statistics and an analysis and summary of health care issues affecting the citizens of Virginia, including but not limited to, health status indicators, the effectiveness of delivery of health care, progress toward meeting standards and goals, the financial and geographic accessibility of health care, and the distribution of health care resources, with particular attention to health care access for those Virginia citizens in rural areas, inner cities, and with greatest economic need. Such report shall also contain statistics and analysis regarding the health status and conditions of minority populations in the Commonwealth by age, gender, and locality.

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) serves as the leader and coordinator of Virginia’s public health system. Public health can be defined as what society does collectively to create those conditions in which people can be healthy – which is supportive of the Governor’s goal of creating a healthy workforce and New Virginia Economy. In conjunction with local, private sector, and state/federal government partners, VDH plays a fundamental role in promoting and protecting the health of all Virginians – focused on the ten essential public health services (Figure 1). VDH's public health role is distinguished from health care and private medicine in general by focus on the health of populations, emphasis on prevention, orientation towards the community, and efforts directed at system management.