Washington State Department of Health

**Our Mission** The Department of Health works with others to protect and improve the health of all people in Washington state. **Our Vision** Equity and optimal health for all **Our Cornerstone Values** - Equity - Innovation - Engagement The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is Proud to Serve All People in the Great State of Washington. The Evergreen State was named the “Best State” by U.S. News to measure how states are performing on behalf of their residents. The state of Washington boasts unparalleled natural beauty, from volcanoes and rain forests to wineries and beaches. Washington State is divided in to 39 counties that reflect the wide cross section of life in America -urban, suburban, and rural. Washington is home to 29 federally recognized tribes, independent nations within our great state, with the 8th largest Native American population in the U.S. People we serve. Over the past decade Washington’s population grew by nearly one million people to 7.75 million. We also grew more diverse with U.S. Census reporting Washington becoming 10 percent more diverse during this decade. DOH works continuously to reduce health disparities among vulnerable and underserved communities to achieve health equity throughout Washington. **What We Do** The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) fights to defend the public’s health from threats in a rapidly evolving world. DOH’s programs and services, implemented in collaboration with local health departments and state, federal and private partners, touch the lives of all Washingtonians and visitors to the state 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. DOH provides comprehensive public health services and programs to the community through a workforce of approximately 2,000 public health professionals– all dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Washingtonians and the communities in which they live, learn, work, worship, and play. DOH will continue to evolve and transform public health activities, taking it to the next level through our cornerstone values of Equity, Innovation, and Engagement. Each year brings new diseases, new chronic disease risks, and more natural and man-made disasters. Public health works together and across the health ecosystem for a brighter tomorrow