Healthy Communities

About ADH

Mission Statement: To protect and improve the health and well-being of all Arkansans.

Vision Statement: Optimal health for all Arkansans to achieve maximum personal, economic and social impact.Arkansas Department of Health graphic

What is public health? One definition – from a 1988 report by the Institute of Medicine’s “The Future of Public Health” – is this: “Public health is the science and the art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and organizing community efforts to do the following: keep the environment clean, control communicable infections, educate individuals in personal hygiene (like hand washing for example), organize medical and nursing services for the early diagnosis and treatment of disease, and develop the social machinery to ensure everyone a healthy standard of living.”

To say that another way, public health is everything the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) does to protect and improve the health and well-being of all Arkansans – more than 100 services provided statewide by public health professionals to assure that your water is safe, your children have their immunizations, your restaurants are safe and your birth certificate is correct – to name just a few.

The ADH is a unified health department, with a main office in Little Rock and 94 local health units in each of the state’s 75 counties. We have Centers that oversee all that we do.

In addition, our Public Health Laboratory tests and reports on samples from all over the state – water samples, human samples for disease, even samples for rabies. This state-of-the-art laboratory is prepared for a pandemic flu or a bioterrorist event, as well.

Supporting the various service programs throughout ADH is Administration, which includes finance, human resources, information technology, legal, minority health, community support, health communication and marketing, tobacco prevention and cessation, policies and procedures and facilities support.

The mission of the Department is to protect and improve the health and well-being of all Arkansans. We do this with the support of over 2,100 dedicated employees and public and private partners. All employees in our diverse workforce are expected to exemplify professionalism in everything they do. They are passionate about what they do, because they are making a difference by helping people make their lives healthier.

You may review a directory of agency contacts here.

 

ADH Strategic Plan FY2018-19

All state agencies were asked by Governor Hutchinson to prepare a two-year strategic plan to cover the period encompassing FY2018-2019. The plan presented by the Arkansas Department  of Health (ADH), and approved by the Governor, is an adaptation of a four-year plan ADH began in January 2016. The goal areas in the two-year plan include the original six goal areas of Childhood Obesity, Hypertension, Immunizations, Mental and Community Wellness, Teen Pregnancy, and Tobacco Use, but also include a new goal area on Efficiency and Responsiveness. The new goal area is in response to the Governor’s request that specific operational objectives be included in addition to the health issues already prioritized for focused effort. It should be noted that the two-year objectives may differ slightly from the original four-year objectives as baseline data has been updated to reflect the current status and different metrics may have been determined to provide better data. Objectives listed are those which are receiving priority focus during this two-year period and may have been modified from the original.

ADH is also accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), the national accrediting body for public health agencies, and has to meet specific five-year requirements including a state health assessment and continuous quality improvement (CQI) plan in order to maintain accreditation. The Arkansas Department of Health is currently in year two of a five year accreditation cycle and will be implementing a CQI program that utilizes tools and training appropriate for public health programs at all levels of the department.

Click HERE to view and print the ADH Strategic Plan FY2018-19

Downloads
Organizational Chart
Services Directory
Strategic Map CY 2016 - 2019
Strategic Plan Supplement 2016 - 2019
ADH Guiding Principles
ADH Guide to Programs & Services
EEOC Know Your Rights
Small Gatherings for Eclipse 2024
Office Address Phone Fax
Main Office 4815 W. Markham Street
Little Rock, AR 72205
800-462-0599 (toll-free)
501-661-2000
501-280-4444
Secretary’s Office 4815 W. Markham Street, Slot 36
Little Rock, AR 72205
501-661-2400 501-671-1450

Public Health Accrediation Board
Arkansas Department of Health
© 2017 Arkansas Department of Health. All Rights Reserved. www.healthy.arkansas.gov
4815 W. Markham, Little Rock, AR 72205-3867
1-800-462-0599