What can Public Health do for you? Published April 1, 2014 By Lt. Col. Jiffy Seto 436th Aerospace Medical Squadron DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Every Airman has to visit Public Health once a year for their Preventive Health Assessment (PHA). But did you know that Public Health has other multiple vital roles at Dover Air Force Base to prevent diseases, screen for occupational illnesses and improve community health? The Public Health Flight has four elements to serve your public health needs which include Travel Medicine/Deployment Health, Preventive Health Assessment, Community Health and Occupational Health elements. Travel Medicine/Deployment Health: If you are going on a trip anywhere outside of the United States, the Travel Medicine or Deployment Health element can give you important medical advice on the recommended vaccinations, medications and education you should have prior to departing. This pertains to personal travel along with official military travel. If you are being deployed, Deployment Health will ensure that you have the vaccinations, laboratory testing, pre-deployment paperwork and Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metric testing. Preventive Health Assessment: The Public Health Assessment element is responsible for conducting an Airman's annual PHA. An Airman's PHA is important to review their recent medical history, any significant medical events since their last PHA and coordinate any required vaccines or laboratory testing with their Primary Care Manager. Public Health also coordinates required Individual Medical Readiness requirements to include vaccinations and laboratory testing. Completing all of the necessary individual medical readiness items allows Airmen to be deployable at all times, so it is important to complete these items in a timely fashion. Community Health: The Community Health element's goal is to prevent disease and maximize the health of the whole base population. Community Health is composed of Communicable Disease, Food Safety Office and Medical Entomology sections. Communicable Disease technicians track diseases like sexually transmitted infections, including more uncommon diseases like tuberculosis and rabies. They follow epidemiological trends, compute rates of infection and ensure timely treatment of patients and their contacts along with mandatory reporting to other public health departments. The Food Safety Office is committed to ensuring a safe food supply on Dover Air Force Base. They address food safety issues in on-base food facilities and implement food recalls conducted by the Department of Defense's All Food and Drug Acts recall system. The Food Safety office also periodically checks the status of meals ready to eat ensuring they are being stored in a safe and effective manner. The medical entomology section program tracks seasonal issues in Delaware regarding insects, spiders, ticks, and mites, the diseases they transmit and how they affect our base population and potentially the operational mission. Last year, Medical Entomology captured thousands of mosquitos and screened them for vector-borne disease such as West Nile virus. Occupational Health: Occupational Health's mission is to protect the health and safety of Team Dover Airmen potentially exposed to hazards in any of the industrial workplaces on Dover Air Force Base. They educate workers on the proper wear and use of personal protective equipment, coordinate occupational health physicals, order screening laboratory testing and conduct screening audiograms. Occupational Health also conducts industrial shop visits to meet with Airmen and their supervisors to ensure the health and safety of the members are protected while performing their duties. So, if you need your PHA completed or need advice related to travel medicine, deployment health, community health, or occupational health, please call your friendly Public Health Flight at 302-677-2564.