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Washington
Washington’s public health system
The Washington State Department of Health is a cabinet-level agency with authority for certain portions of the health code. The department provides resources, technical assistance, and consultation in a wide variety of areas, including epidemiology, and risk assessment. Washington also has a State Board of Health with statutory authority for certain portions of the health code. Local jurisdictions provide the bulk of direct services, although state programs retain direct service responsibility where some centralization makes sense. The state and local jurisdictions maintain an active partnership.
Washington has 35 local health jurisdictions providing front-line public health services within its 39 counties (county health departments, city-county health departments, and multi-county health districts). Nineteen local health departments serve about 60 percent of the state’s population. Of these, 20 are single-county departments where the county commissioners serve as the local board of health. Two are combined city-county departments (Seattle-King County and Tacoma-Pierce County). Their local boards of health are determined by inter-local agreement. Fourteen local health districts serve about 40 percent of the state’s population. Three districts are political subdivisions separate from the other offices of county government. Their local boards of health include county and city representation. Three districts combine more than one county (Northeast Tri-County, Chelan-Douglas, and Benton-Franklin).
NWCPHP activities in Washington
- The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board and NWCPHP co-sponsored the Tribal Emergency Preparedness conferences, in September 2005 and August 2006, for Washington, Idaho and Oregon tribes.
- NWCPHP provides ongoing technical support and training for iLinc Web Conferencing for state and local public health agencies. Washington State health professionals use this tool regularly for meetings and trainings.
- NWCPHP staff provided assistance and resources to Project Public Health Ready for Thurston County and Public Health - Seattle & King County, during 2003-2005.
- Dr. Randy Beaton, NWCPHP faculty, developed and presented a workshop on Disaster Mental Health Preparedness, Summer 2005, to educate public health practitioners and their emergency response partners in the nine Washington regions about mental health and community health care needs in disaster response. He also created an online module on the topic.
- NWCPHP staff are supporting a 5-month collaborative learning project under the Performance Management section of the Public Health Improvement Plan. Four local health jurisdictions and one Department of Health team are developing logic models, performance measures, and rapidly applying these improvements to their sites. This work will be shared at a Learning Congress in November 2006.
Washington contacts
Lori Van De Wege
Regional Learning Specialist Liaison
Washington State Department of Health
Other Washington links
- Directory of Washington State Governmental Public Health Organizations and Tribes—Includes the 35 local health jurisdictions, the state Department of Health and state Board of Health, as well as public health partners in the tribes and state universities.
- Online Publications
- Health of Washington State—A statewide assessment of health status, health risks, and health care services. Published July 2002.
Assessment, Education, and Training
- AssessNow
- H.E.R.E. in Washington - Health Education Resource Exchange
- Lyme Disease - a Monograph and Guide for Washington Physicians
- Rabies Prevention in Washington State: A Guide for Practitioners
- SmartPH (learning management system)
- Washington Public Health Training Network (WAPHTN)
Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials (WSALPHO)
Washington State Public Health Association
Washington in brief
Washington’s population is 5.9 million people. Of these, 1.7 million people live in Seattle/King County, the state’s largest metropolitan area. Washington’s 29 tribal nations report about 46,000 registered members. The 2000 US Census classified 18% of Washington’s population as rural and 27% as non-urbanized. The state is divided by the Cascade mountain range into two distinct geographic and cultural entities, creating unique challenges in planning for and implementing public health and emergency preparedness programs.