About Us

Our Mission

Our mission is to prevent disease, promote healthy lifestyles and protect the health of everyone in Wood County.

Our Vision

Our vision is to provide the highest level of service and leadership to be the healthiest county in Ohio.

Values and Beliefs

We believe our guiding principles are The 10 Essential Public Health Services. (The Center for Disease Control and Prevention created The 10 Essential Public Health Services to describe the public health activities that all communities should carry out.)
We believe that health is more than life without disease.
We believe that quality of life along with life expectancy of people in Wood County should affect 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.

History

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.”

– excerpts from the first Board of Health Meeting, 1920

Present

Today we serve more than 120,000 Wood County residents. Guided by the Board of Health Members, the Health Commissioner and the employees of Wood County Health Department operate on a $7,000,000 annual budget.

Health Commissioner

The Board of Health appointed Benjamin Robison, MPH as the Wood County Health Commissioner in 2020.

Board of Health

The Board of Health of the Wood County General Health District meets on the second Thursday of each month at 6:00pm in the Board Room of the Wood County Health Department.

We recognize the value of public comment on issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on matters of community interest and set aside a period at the beginning of every regular meeting of the Board for public participation. Please review our Public Participation Policy ahead of time if you plan to attend.