Surgeon General's Priorities

Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona has outlined his priorities for the health of individuals, and the nation as a whole.

• The overarching goal is to improve health literacy, and in support of this he wants us all to work towards increasing disease prevention, eliminating health disparities, and improving public health preparedness. These priorities provide Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) units with specific areas to target that will strengthen the public health infrastructure within their local communities.
  
• Improving health literacy is important so that all Americans may access, understand and use health-related information and services to make good health decisions. In order to address the more than 90 million Americans that do not understand basic health information, MRC units can work alongside the Surgeon General to increase awareness within their communities about the importance of health literacy and the challenges presented when there is a lack of knowledge concerning health issues.
  
• Public health preparedness is of great concern since Americans count on a strong public health system capable of meeting any emergency, be it man-made, a weather related natural disaster, or an emerging infectious illness. MRC volunteers are an important resource in our public health, and public safety agencies at all levels of government is an important step in allowing every community to be better able to respond to emergencies. As the MRC works toward partnering with these agencies and preparing for emergencies, they are also bettering the public health infrastructure in their local community.