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.
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 Divisions that oversee all that we do.
- The Division for Health Advancement has among its many branches Chronic Disease, Tobacco Prevention and Control, Family Health, Women Infants and Children (WIC), and Oral Health.
- The Division for Health Protection has branches for Infectious Disease, Preparedness and Emergency Response, and Health Systems.
- The Division for Local Public Health is at the heart of the department. Our local health units provide services to communities across the state. Our Hometown Health Improvement Initiative is a process that takes a close look at the issues in local communities. It is coordinated through our local health units in partnership with community stakeholders. Through this collaboration, health strategies are developed and implemented to improve these local health issues.
- The Division of Health Data and Analytics includes branches for Vital Records, Health Statistics, and Epidemiology, our “disease detectives” who track the spread of communicable diseases like mumps, measles and chicken pox.
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, health disparities elimination, community support, public health communication, 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 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.
ADH Strategic Plan FY2024-29
The 2024-2029 ADH Strategic Plan represents a roadmap aimed at addressing important public health challenges and promoting well-being across the state of Arkansas. The Plan outlines the roles, priorities, and direction of the ADH over the next five years. Grounded in extensive research and stakeholder input, this Plan outlines comprehensive strategies to tackle five key health issues represented by the icons below.
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), with the help of the Office of Performance Management, Quality Improvement, and Evaluation (OPMQIE), took systematic steps to execute the ADH strategic planning process. Survey responses were gathered from ADH staff to identify and prioritize public health focus areas, including health behaviors and health outcomes. The ADH senior leadership team, along with the Governor’s Office, also shared their input on the focus areas. ADH’s internal partners potentially representing the focus areas participated in the strategic planning process on May 17, 2024.
The meeting on May 17, 2024, accompanied by several follow-up virtual meetings with the partners resulted in the final selection of the focus area specific strategies and activities. The final Plan was reviewed by the focus area leads and ADH’s senior leadership team. The approved 2024-2029 ADH Strategic Plan is currently being implemented statewide.
Planning and implementation of a Strategic Plan is one of the core foundational capabilities recommended by Public Health Accreditation Foundation (PHAB). The ADH was initially accredited in 2016 through PHAB. It was recently reaccredited in December 2024 by further demonstrating its dedication to continuous improvement and excellence in public health services. To view the progress that was made during the first year of the Strategic Plan click here.
Resources
- ADH Guiding Principles
- ADH Guide to Programs & Services
- Diabetes Resources
- Stroke STEMI
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases
- Women’s Health
- Maternal Health
- Youth Tobacco Use
Contact Information
Main Office
4815 W. Markham Street
Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: 800-462-0599 (toll-free) 501-661-2000
Fax: 501-280-4444
[email protected]
Secretary’s Office
4815 W. Markham Street, Slot 36
Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: 501-661-2400
Fax: 501-671-1450
[email protected]