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Outbreak: Plagues that changed HistorySeptember 27 – January 30, 2008
Organized by the Global Health Odyssey Museum; come see Byrn Barnard’s images of the symptoms and paths of the world’s deadliest diseases – and how the epidemics they spawned have changed history forever.
CDC Fact Sheet
Download CDC Fact Sheet [PDF, 52 KB]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the nation’s premier public health agency—working to ensure healthy people in a healthy world
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting public health activities in the United States.
CDC’s focus is not only on scientific excellence but also on the essential spirit that is CDC – to protect the health of all people. CDC keeps humanity at the forefront of its mission to ensure health protection through promotion, prevention, and preparedness.
Composed of the Office of the Director, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and six Coordinating Centers/ Offices, including environmental health and injury prevention, health information services, health promotion, infectious diseases, global health and terrorism preparedness and emergency response, CDC employs more than 14,000 employees in 40 countries and in 170 occupations.
The goals of the agency are as follows:
Healthy People in Every Stage of Life by reducing health risks, at all stages of life, through the most efficient and effective means possible.
Healthy People in Healthy Places by ensuring the places we live, work, and play have safe, healthy environments.
People Prepared for Emerging Health Threats by safeguarding lives and responding to threats from mental health to environmental health.
Healthy People in a Healthy World by spearheading efforts to improve global health through medical technology, international coalitions, government interventions, and basic behavior changes.
To reach our goals, six strategic areas of focus have been established:
Health Impact Focus:Align CDC's staff, strategies, goals, investments, and performance to maximize impact on the population's health and safety.
Customer-centricity: Market what people want and need to choose health.
Public Health Research: Create and disseminate the knowledge and innovations people need to protect their health now and in the future.
Leadership: Leverage CDC's unique expertise, partnerships, and networks to improve the health system.
Globalization: Extend CDC's knowledge and tools to promote health protection around the world.
Accountability: Sustain people's trust and confidence by making the most efficient and effective use of their investments in CDC.
