Mayor and Council Proclamations to Mark Public Health Week and Minority Health Month
The Mayor and Council will highlight health with proclamations on Monday, April 5 declaring April 5-11 as National Public Health Week and the month of April as National Minority Health Month in the City of Rockville.
The health week proclamation calls on “the citizens of Rockville to observe this week by helping our families, friends, neighbors, co-workers and leaders to better understand the value of public health and supporting great opportunities to adopt preventive lifestyle habits in light of this year’s theme ‘Building Bridges to Better Health.’”
The American Public Health Association has sponsored the week since 1995 “to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving our nation’s health,” according to the NPHW website.
The proclamation notes that “the COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated and exacerbated racial inequities and a growing number of local, state governments and public health leaders have declared racism a public health crisis” and states that “eight-nine percent of all intoxication deaths that occurred in Maryland in 2018 were opioid-related.”
The Mayor and Council have made fighting opioid addiction the focus of the Rockville Goes Purple campaign and have made investigating the scope and impact of social justice, racism and bias on city residents, and in the community, a priority initiative.
The city is seeking to better understand and improve its approach to social justice, inclusion and diversity through a survey developed by the city’s Human Rights and Human Services Advisory commissions. Find the survey, when it is posted later this spring, and more about the Mayor and Council’s priorities related to social justice, racism and bias, at www.rockvillemd.gov/humanrights.
National Minority Health Month seeks to build awareness about the disproportionate burden of premature death and illness in minority populations and to encourage health education, early detection and control of diseases complications.
Sponsored by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, this year’s theme of #VaccineReady recognizes how COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting racial and ethnic minority communities and underscores the need for these vulnerable communities to get vaccinated.
Find information about preregistering for a COVID-19 vaccine at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine and covidvax.maryland.gov. Or, to preregister by phone, call 240-777-2982.
Learn more about National Minority Health Month.
The City of Rockville promotes public health with:
- A vibrant Recreation and Parks Department giving community members big-city recreational offerings with a hometown feel.
- 67 city parks, three community centers, a nature center, hiking and biking trails, a swim and fitness center and senior center. With more than 1,000 acres of parkland within 14 square miles, Rockville has about 16 acres of open space for every 1,000 residents. Nearly every home is within a short walk of a park.
- Platinum recognition, the highest awarded by the Institute for Public Health and Innovation for its Healthy Eating Active Living Cities and Towns Campaign.
- 159 garden plots available for rental at Woottons Mill Park, where gardeners can grow fruit and vegetables.
- The Rockville Farmers Market, which offers farm-fresh produce weekly from May-November.
- A safe, well-connected bicycle network of nearly 35 miles of shared-use paths, 4 miles of bike lanes, and 3 miles of roads with sharrows.
- Efforts to curb smoking and vaping, including city regulations prohibiting smoking and vaping on all city property and in city facilities and city parks, and participation in the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout.
- A comprehensive wellness program for city employees.
Find the proclamations and, beginning April 6, video of their presentations, with the Mayor and Council agenda for April 5 at www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter.