Public Health is Everywhere

where...” These were the first words said to me by my first public health professor on my first day of college. This was before our class dove deeply into the social determinants of health or learned the language used to describe the health inequities existing in our communities.

This was by no means my introduction to public health. Growing up in Berkeley, California, I was a peer health educator for my high school’s health center. By the time I was 15, I understood how vital access to health and health information is. As I continued my education as an undergraduate and graduate student, I learned what my role could be in addressing issues of access to public health. In fact, while writing this article, I came across a 2011 paper from one of my graduate courses at San Francisco State University in which I wrote:

“Addressing injustice is the underlying theme of the public health work that I do. I have come to understand that the built environment has great impacts on an individual’s and a community’s access to resources that ensure a high quality of life. It is apparent that racism and oppression are woven into the fabric of our built environment. Lewis Thomas wrote, ‘A society can be judged by the way it treats its most disadvantaged. . . As things stand now, we must be judged a poor lot, and it is time to mend our ways.’ The way in which our society is designed requires that there is a disadvantaged portion of the population, in fact its very success relies on this principle, however this principle is not a long lasting one. Basic human rights are being denied and it is my hope that by recognizing these issues and empowering communities will result in meaningful change.”

My undergraduate and graduate degrees informed my work with high school students in Alameda, Oakland, and throughout California. I had the privilege of working with young people to identify where public health was and was not happening in their communities. One memory in particular stands out from this work: we were traversing the streets of downtown Oakland with our camera phones in tow, crisscrossing Broadway and Telegraph, while the young people took pictures of intricately muraled electrical boxes, four way stops, and green spaces. Every few minutes, while we walked, the same question would come up: “Why does this block look so different from that block? And, how can we change this?” That was the key, despite frustration when observing inequities - they always asked how change could be made. Three months ago, when I joined the San Francisco Marin Medical Society (SFMMS) as its Director of Engagement, I quickly learned that the physicians that I have the privilege of supporting are not only highly engaged in public health issues but understand how public health impacts their ability to provide services to your patients. My narrow view prior to even interviewing with this organization, was that physicians were so entrenched in service providing, seeing back-to-back patients, writing notes, and doing their best to make it home to spend time with loved ones, that they had no time to address, let alone think about systemic public health issues. I now recognize that the physicians of San Francisco and Marin understand the clear connection between what they see among their patients and what is happening in communities: their living conditions, their access to healthy foods, their ability to access public transit, safe outdoor spaces, safe working conditions. All relates to the health conditions you work to treat and enhance in your exam rooms. Not only do you understand this, you are invested in addressing these inequities at all levels. In the short time I have been with SFMMS, you have written letters to the Governor to protect the rights of inmates at San Quentin Prison, you have created recommendations for safely reopening schools, and you have stood up against hate speech.

Whether it be housing policy or food insecurity, tobacco products or early childhood education, I am so looking forward to continuing this journey with you as your new Director of Community Engagement, where I know you deeply understand that public health is everywhere and we continuously ask: “who has access to that public health and who does not?”

Molly Baldridge, MPH, is the Director of Engagement for SFMMS.