Join NACo in celebrating County Health Day on April 18, 2025

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Key Takeaways

Please join the National Association of Counties (NACo) in celebrating County Health Day on Friday, April 18th!  

County Health Day, which falls during National County Government Month, honors the vital role counties play in supporting health and well-being across every stage of life — from infancy to older adulthood. Under this year’s theme, Counties Supporting Health Across the Lifespan, we are highlighting the essential work counties do to create healthier, more resilient communities for all ages. The focus areas for this year’s celebration include:

  1. Prevention and Early Intervention: Showcase how counties invest in preventive care — from childhood immunizations to screenings for chronic conditions and mental health — promoting lifelong health and reducing future healthcare costs.
  2. Healthy Environments: Demonstrate how counties foster environments that support health, including clean water, safe housing, recreational spaces, and food security programs that benefit all generations.
  3. Resilience and Mental Well-being: Share how counties promote mental health and emotional resilience — through youth support programs, crisis response services, and senior social connection initiatives — supporting well-being at every age.
  4. Access to Care: Highlight how counties ensure access to essential services like maternal care, mental health supports, chronic disease management, and aging services — making sure no one is left behind at any stage of life.
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Show #CountyHealth in Action

Throughout the day, use your social media platforms to share links to publications, photos, program descriptions and stories that capture the impact of innovative public health programs in your community. Connect with counties across the country on Facebook and X (Twitter) by using #CountyHealth to join the conversation and share how you are collaborating, engaging the community, innovating and impacting your community's health.  

  • Highlight community partnerships. Public health thrives through partnership. Tag and celebrate your community partners — from early childhood providers to senior care advocates — to recognize their role in supporting lifelong health.
  • Share county resources. Promote recent county reports, needs assessments, or service directories to raise awareness about available health programs for people of all ages.
  • Promote data on county health systems. Share key data from NACo’s resources to show the impact counties have on public health throughout the lifespan.
  • Thank county health employees. Celebrate the dedicated county public health workforce — nurses, social workers, health educators, and others — who make a difference across every generation. Recognize individual health champions and share their stories on social media. 

Educate Partners on the County Role in Public Health

This brief provides an overview of how counties provide integral public health services for all Americans, describes their public health authority, their role in preparedness and response efforts, and local public health efforts to address social determinants of health (SDOH) in our communities. The brief also outlines key federal policy recommendations for our federal partners to safeguard funding and authority for local public health services and programs.

View NACo Briefs:

Share Key County Public Health Stats

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Advocate for Key Public Health Priorities

This County Health Day, counties can advocate for strong federal partnerships that empower local public health systems through collaboration, investment, and policymaking that supports a resilient and sustainable public health infrastructure. 

  1. Provide funding and incentives to recruit and retain a diverse public health workforce. Local health departments which are underfunded and understaffed are less likely to be able to prepare and mobilize effectively, leaving our communities incredibly vulnerable. A strong workforce and consistent federal investments are essential to the overall health care infrastructure and ensure that our public health system operates efficiently and effectively.
  2. Protect funding for core local public health services and prevention programs. Urge your members of Congress, especially those who serve on the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees, to protect and increase funding for local public health services and prevention programs made possible by the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF). Read more here.
  3. Expand direct to county investments and support for bolstering public health preparedness and response. To meet the needs of residents, the local preparedness infrastructure must be upgraded as communities continue to face numerous environmental and natural disasters, alongside growing public health threats. Federal programs like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement program are essential in providing not only funding, but technical assistance and guidance, to help public health departments at all levels to better prepare and respond to public health threats and emergencies.
  4. Urge federal policymakers to protect county funding and flexibility in Medicaid financing reforms. Counties are essential partners in Medicaid, directly administering and delivering critical health services—any federal financing reforms must protect local flexibility and funding to ensure vulnerable residents continue receiving care.

Access NACo Toolkit: Federal Reforms to Medicaid Financing View NACo Health Policy Briefs

Check Out NACo's Health Programs

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Program

Healthy Counties Initiative

NACo’s Healthy Counties Initiative creates and sustains healthy counties by supporting collaboration and sharing evidence-informed approaches to pressing health issues.

Contacts:

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Blaire Bryant

Legislative Director, Health | Large Urban County Caucus
Shalini Wickramatilake

Shalini Wickramatilake

Program Director, Health and Human Services
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