Community Health

A county health department develops, implements and administers programs and services to maintain a healthy community. To ensure these efforts address a community's most important health problems and concerns, the county health department encourages residents to participate in assessing public health needs and in formulating a community health plan. It also works with other community organizations to assure needed services and programs are available.

County health departments are responsible for providing the following Essential Public Health Services:

• Monitor health status to identify community health problems.
• Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community.
• Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues.
• Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems.
• Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts.
• Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety.
• Link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of healthcare when otherwise unavailable.
• Assure a competent public health and personal health care workforce.
• Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services.
• Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems.

State law provides each county the authority to establish a county health department. In establishing a county health department, base funding must be provided from local tax sources. This normally results from a vote of the local taxpayers. The same law also defines the county health department as a function of county government. The county health department is considered an official office of county government just as the county clerk and the county treasurer. As a function of county government the county health department is responsible to the board of county commissioners and the county board of health of each county.

There are few requirements for establishing a local health department. There are no minimum number of staff; there is no requirements for buildings and infrastructure; and there is no minimum size population to serve. The seven Oklahoma counties that do not have established county health departments are provided minimum public health services by the OSDH. Medical direction of a county health department is routinely provided through contract with a local physician. All professional staff must be licensed or certified, in their area of expertise, to be employed by a county health department. The population served includes all residents of the county in which the health department is based. For additional information regarding services provided contact your county health department.

Every county in the state is, by statute, required to maintain a five member county board of health. The board of health is required to meet two times a year. The county board of health has the power to establish and maintain a county health department, prepare and submit a budget to the county excise board, advise the state commissioner on matters of public health in the county, and adopt regulations which shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner of health.

The five member board of health is appointed as follows:

1. The State Commissioner of Health appoints one member, whose term shall expire on June 30, 1964, and each four years thereafter.
2. The State Commissioner of Health shall appoint another member, whose term shall expire June 30, 1965 and each four years thereafter.
3. The judge of the district court shall appoint one member, who shall be the holder of a school administrator's certificate, and whose term shall expire June 30, 1966 and each four years thereafter.
4. The board of county commissioners shall appoint one member, who shall be a doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, or, if no doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathy is available, the board of county commissioners may appoint a dentist, optometrist, or a registered nurse.
5. The board of county commissioners shall appoint another member who may be a member of the board of county commissioners, and who shall serve at the pleasure of the board of county commissioners.