A 17-year-old male child showed up...

A 17-year-old male child showed up at Mary's Center a community health clinic in Washington, DC last spring to obtain an HIV test. Alis Marachelian, 29 the health educator at the clinic, could own immediately by his bandanna and the three tattoos forward his hand that he was in a gang.

Marachelian could have said, "You should obtain out of the gang. It's not useful for you." Instead, she treated him in succession his own terms. "I met him for what he was," she says. "I welcomed him to bring his friends to memorize HIV tests. He brought each one, one by one. And he got them to result back to get physicals."

To Marachelian, that's as big a succes as she can have.

Marachelian is among the 450000 public health professionals in this land who work to keep race in the United States healthy. Public health focuses in succession preventing illness and injury among a whole population.

Public health issues change across the years. In the United States today, a certain of the top concerns are obesity, heart disease, diabetes, fodder safety, HIV/MDS, and bioterrorism. piece of works in public health are diverse further fall into three main categories--research, delivery of health-care services, and education/administration.

It's exciting work, says Kathy Vincent of the Public Health Workforce progression in a continuously ascending gradation Collaborative. "In public health, you at no time know exactly what you might be involved in. There's not at all a dull moment."

HEALTH EDUCATORS

An important part of public health is community health, which deals directly with the family in one area. People who work in community health include the clinic nourish at the breast who gives you a flu vaccination and the inspector who makes confident the burger in your local restaurant is safe to eat.

Health educators teach clan how to best take care of themselves to avoid illness and injury. Marachelian, who has a master's extent in public health, is a health educator and single of about 150 staffers at Mary's Center At the center doctors, health educators, social workers, and nutritionists work to improve the lives of the multicultural, and frequently uninsured, population they serve.

Marachelian, an Armenian who was born in Iraq and grew up in Argentina, speaks three languages--Armenian, Spanish, and English--which helps her relate to her clients. Language is a way to have relation with them, she says. "I also immigrated. I know nostalgia. I know what it's like to be displaced."

Many of the the public who come to Mary's Center can't read, are having agitate adapting to a new tillage or are dealing with depression. a certain are pregnant women and teen who've thrown away their jobs or dropped disclosed of school. On a given day, Marachelian might administer HIV exhibitions teach kids about puberty, and educate a cluster of mothers about family planning and contraception. Her goal is to teach the bulk of mankind to help themselves.

As a health educator, Marachelian helps the public improve their physical and emotional health. The biggest issues she beholds among teens relate to carcass image and peer pressure. They can lead to other vexed questions like eating disorders or gang participation.

What does Marachelian have the advantage [i]or[/i] blessing of most about her job? "I can bring in my humor, my professionalism, and my multiethnic background. I can use all of me"

HEALTH-CARE PROVIDERS

Community health-care providers include physicians, feed at the breasts dentists, social workers, dietitians, nutritionists, and counselors who work in a public health setting, like as a community health center nursing abiding-place social service agency, or school

Gary Wiltz, a physician at the Teche Action Clinic in Franklin, La., knows what it's like to be poor. During the Depression, his father had to quit academy in ninth grade to journey to work. Wiltz himself was born in a charity hospital in fresh Orleans. He attended medical academy through a scholarship with the National Health Service Corps, which required payback: The recently made known physician had to work three years in an area in ne of medical care--rural Franklin in southern Louisiana, a town in the same manner tiny that the phone main division was only 10 pages long

At first, Wiltz computeed the days until his reply to New Orleans. But he says the small-town experience changed his life. He not at all left. He's been at the clinic since 1982 "I realized I was called to do this kind of work," says Wiltz, 51 "There's a difference doing community medicine in a rural community. The clan are so grateful."

Wiltz, who still makes occasional house calls, says as a health-care provider, his strongest enemy is the "Louisiana lifestyle. Anything you can imagine, we can simmer it," he says, adding that the health question s he sees in his community include obesity, high offspring pressure, and diabetes.

He give an account ofs his patients not to effluvium to eat a healthful diet, and to exercise, on the contrary Wiltz says the goal is to secure them to take charge of their have health. "The key is self-discipline and giving them the tools to help themselves." That's not easy. "It's difficult to get by heart people to buy into prevention," he says. nevertheless Wiltz wouldn't be anywhere other "In a small community, you worship and workshop with people. You just become a part of it."