Mission Possible: Washington Ozaukee Health Department Merger

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

Ozaukee County, WI (87,054) and Washington County, WI (132,739) have regionalized public health services with the formation of a new multi-county health department. The two existing county health departments were merged in 2016. The Counties collectively serve 220,000 residents, are located north of Milwaukee, WI and border Lake Michigan. Ozaukee and Washington Counties have a long standing history of partnership and collaboration. There is clear direction from all involved elected bodies to seek opportunities for shared services to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. The team working on this project shared a vision for a seamless operation under one umbrella that can more efficiently and effectively serve residents. The outcome of the merged public health agency was the standardization and consolidation of all public health services. Shared services now include but are not limited to Environmental Health including WI Food Safety and Recreational Licensing, Maternal and Child Health (MCH), Wisconsin Well Woman Program (WWWP), Communicable Disease, Epidemiology and Surveillance, Emergency Preparedness, Immunization, Prevention including Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Planning, Heroin Task Forces, Child Death Review Teams, INVEST (Ozaukee County’s Community Health Coalition), Laboratory Services, and overall systems, administration and governance.