I knew even before looking that the short news brief from Associated Press under the headline “NC calls on churches with health promotion message” would have nothing about mental health.
Neither did any of the topics listed in the “Health-Related Bulletin Inserts for the Faith Community,” 57 documents produced by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health and grouped under nine categories: asthma, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke, injury and violence prevention, nutrition, physical activity, schools and tobacco.The inserts are aimed at preventing and controlling chronic illnesses and providing online resources for healthcare questions.
Division of Public Health spokes folks would likely point out that mental health does not fall under the purview of its chronic disease and injury section. Simply put, it’s not their job. And I say that with no intention of demeaning DPH staff, who like the majority of DHHS employees I’m sure conscientiously do their jobs as best they can for the public interest.
