State health agency

A state health agency (SHA), or state department of health, is a department or agency of the state governments of the United States focused on public health. The state secretary of health is a constitutional or at times a statutory official in several states of the United States. The position is the chief executive official for the state's state health agency (or equivalent), chief administrative officer for the state's Board of Health (or equivalent), or both.

Responsibilities

State health departments have different names and responsibilities; in some states they are top-level administrative agencies, while in other states they are a division or bureau of another office. Health departments are usually responsible for public health, including preventive medicine, epidemiology, vaccinations, environmental health (sometimes including health inspections), and the licensing of health care professionals; the collection and archiving of vital records such as birth and death certificates and sometimes marriage and divorce certificates; health statistics; developmental disabilities; mental health; occupational safety and health; receiving and recording reports of notifiable diseases; and tobacco control.

In some states, state health departments may additionally be responsible for social services and welfare, environmental protection/pollution control, or the operation of the state psychiatric hospital. Some states have a Surgeon General.

State health agencies (SHAs)

The following are state health agencies as identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:[1]

State SHA Head of health Name
Alabama Alabama Department of Public Health
Alaska Alaska Department of Health and Social Services
Arizona Arizona Department of Health Services
Arkansas Arkansas Department of Health
California California Health and Human Services Agency
Colorado Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Connecticut Connecticut Department of Public Health
Florida Florida Department of Health Secretary and Surgeon General John H. Armstrong, M.D.[2]
Georgia Georgia Department of Public Health
Hawaii Hawaii State Department of Health
Idaho Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
Illinois Illinois Department of Public Health
Indiana Indiana State Department of Health
Iowa Iowa Department of Public Health
Kansas Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary & State Health Officer Robert Moser, MD
Kentucky Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services
Louisiana Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals
Maine Maine Department of Health and Human Services
Maryland Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Massachusetts Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Michigan Michigan Department of Community Health
Mississippi Mississippi State Department of Health State Health Officer Mary Currier
Missouri Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
Montana Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
Nebraska Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services
Nevada Nevada Department of Health and Human Services
New Hampshire New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services
New Jersey New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
New Mexico New Mexico Department of Health
New York New York State Department of Health
North Carolina North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
North Dakota North Dakota Department of Health
Ohio Ohio Department of Health
Oklahoma Oklahoma State Department of Health State Health Commissioner Dr. Terry Cline
Oregon Oregon Health Authority
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Department of Health
Rhode Island Rhode Island Department of Health
South Carolina South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
South Dakota South Dakota Department of Health
Tennessee Tennessee Department of Health
Texas Texas Department of State Health Services
Utah Utah Department of Health
Vermont Vermont Department of Health
Virginia Virginia Department of Health
Washington Washington State Department of Health
West Virginia West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
Wisconsin Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Wyoming Wyoming Department of Health

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Public Health Resources: State or Territorial Health Departments". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  2. ↑ http://www.floridahealth.gov/about-the-department-of-health/ssg/index.html

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, June 30, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.