About Us

Created in 1920, the Wood County Health Department has a long history of protecting its citizens. Our mission is to prevent disease, promote healthy lifestyles and protect the health of everyone in Wood County. Our vision is to provide the highest level of service and leadership to be the healthiest county in Ohio.

The 10 Essential Public Health Services provide guiding principles for our organization:

We believe that health is more than life without disease.
We believe that improving the quality of life and extending the life expectancy of the people in Wood County should drive our actions.
We believe investments in public health will save future costs through prevention.
We believe our role is to assure health equity. This means we believe everyone should have access to healthcare and information for the areas of their health that can be controlled or treated.
We believe health encompasses all aspects of the person including their environment.
We believe community and environmental health needs are always changing.
We value a strong collaborative relationship among board members, management, community partners and staff.
We believe in fostering a culture of continuous quality improvement.

Today we serve the 130,000 Wood County residents. Guided by the Board of Health, the Health Commissioner and the employees of Wood County Health Department operate on a $7,000,000 annual budget.

Created in 1920, the Wood County Health Department has a long history of protecting its citizens.

“Each member had a vision that the main purpose of all health work is to apply scientific knowledge to the conditions of our environments that disease may be prevented and the physical powers of the people be increased at a minimum of inconvenience and expense to the taxpayer of the county. The ideal of Public Health work is to create an organization that will secure to every citizen whatever his condition and wherever his residence, the right to a sound body and good health.”