All original responses to the Discussion Board are due by Saturday at 11:59 p.m. each unit. Original responses are required to be a minimum of 150 words. You are required to respond to a minimum of two classmates’ posts by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. each unit. Each response to classmates’ posts is required to be a minimum of 75 words. You are required to present information based on scholarly sources. Avoid such sources that are not deemed credible, such as Wikipedia and other online encyclopedia sources. Be sure to cite and reference all sources in APA writing style. You are encouraged to view the Discussion Board grading rubric located in the Course Resources to see how your work will be graded.

It seems that nearly every day we hear or read in the news about something one of the federal public health agencies is doing or announcements they are making. Because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is in the news often, people tend to think the CDC is the lead public health agency in the United States. This is because the CDC has so many roles within the public health system in this country. Despite its many roles, the CDC is not the lead public health agency, but rather an operating division within the United States Department of Health and Human Services, which is the umbrella agency, under which all other federal public health agencies fall. 

Review Table 12-2: “Key Federal Health Agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services” in your textbook. Select one of these agencies and visit their Website:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Retrieved from

http://www.ahrq.gov

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from

http://www.cdc.gov

Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved from

http://www.fda.gov

Health Resources and Services Administration. Retrieved from

http://www.hrsa.gov/index.html

Indian Health Services. Retrieved from

http://www.ihs.gov

National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from

http://www.nih.gov

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from

http://www.samhsa.gov

Read about the mission, goals, and overall services of the federal public health agency you selected. Answer the following questions:

1. What is/are the core public health functions this agency addresses (assessment, assurance and/or policy development)?
2. Which of the 10 essential public health services is this agency mandated to carry out (note: there are probably several)? How are they carried out?
3. How does this federal health agency work with state and local public health agencies to fulfill its mission and goals in an effort to improve health outcomes?
4. Does this agency work with any global public health agencies or initiatives? If so, how?