Public Health is Everyone's Business: Interview with Elecia Miller

Elecia Miller

Elecia Miller, of the Lawrence Mayor's Health Task Force, is longtime and dynamic member of the Ounce of Prevention Conference Planning Committee, involved in crafting the Healthcare Reform and the Integrated Chronic Disease Prevention plenaries. Here, Elecia reflects on her work and the on this year's conference.

What do you want participants to learn at the conference?
I often hear “how does what I do affect Public Health?”, or “what does that have to with me?”  Public Health is everyone’s business, no matter who you are. Think of the impact of smoking bans in public places, or immunization requirement for all residents and then ask those questions again. I am hoping that the conference keynote and plenaries will bring some of that thought process home.

As the theme of this year’s conference, “Many Paths to Healthier Communities” suggests, the health of a community is grounded in not just an individual or a family, but in all who work, play and live in that environment.  My wish for this year is that we will have a great mix of participants, particularly students from the colleges and universities, who are preparing to meet the challenges of work and the world, as well as employees and employers from non-traditional public health organizations. 


Can you tell us about any of the presenters?
I’m very excited to listen to Dr. Carlos Cappas, who  is presenting a workshop in the afternoon on “Behavioral Health Integration and Equity: From Policy to Practice”.  Dr. Cappas came to Lawrence a few months ago with great enthusiasm to work in the city.  His hope is to foster change in the attitude of residents (primarily Latinos) on mental healthcare, and to start the process of integration of behavioral health and primary care.  He has been working tirelessly in the community to achieve both objectives and we consider ourselves fortunate to have him working in our community.


Please tell us about your own work.
As a community grassroots coalition, the Mayor’s Health Task Force has been bringing awareness to the community with assistance of its partners. Some of the issues we discuss are heart health, breast and prostate health, nutrition and physical activity, health issues for youth, mental wellness, and oral healthcare.  In addition, the Task Force supports many of its partners, joining in to assist whether through advertising, advocating, or volunteering. We also work to develop healthy policies that improve the quality of life for members of our community.