Final answer:
The core function of public health being implemented by a public health department that provides essential community-oriented health services is known as Assurance. Assurance ensures that necessary health services are available, laws and regulations protecting health are enforced, and public health actions are informed by effective disease surveillance.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a public health department ensures the availability of essential community-oriented health services, it is engaging in one of the core functions of public health: Assurance. This function involves making sure that services necessary to achieve agreed-upon public health goals are available and accessible to the population. This could include the provision of personal health services for those who would not otherwise receive them, and the capacity to direct program implementation. Assurance connects to activities that enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety, as well as providing mechanisms for ensuring the right to health services.
Public health activities stem from the information compiled by epidemiologists that informs about diseases, injuries, and conditions affecting the population. The CDC Foundation describes public health as the science dedicated to protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. The prevention of disease and injury, understanding how they spread, and the impacts they have on populations are central to these efforts.
One of the ways the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supports public health is by overseeing the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System, which follows diseases of significant public health importance to monitor and control outbreaks. This is a critical part of the assurance function — ensuring that disease surveillance systems are in place and functioning effectively to inform public health action.