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About Public Health - Seattle & King County

Learn about Public Health - Seattle & King County, how view public records, file a complaint, or contact the media team and Public Information Officer.

Public Health — Seattle & King County (PHSKC) works to protect and improve the health and well-being of all people in King County as measured by increasing the number of healthy years that people live and eliminating health disparities.

PHSKC is the one of the largest metropolitan health departments in the United States with 1,200 employees, 40 sites, and a biennial budget of $1 billion. The department serves a resident population of nearly 2.53 million people in an environment of great complexity and scale, with 19 acute care hospitals and over 7,000 medical professionals. Over 100 languages are spoken here, and King County is an international destination welcoming nearly 40 million visitors annually.

PHSKC protects the public from threats to their health, promotes better health, and helps to assure that people are provided with accessible, quality health care.

  • Health protection

Functions include disease control, such as tuberculosis, HIV, communicable disease epidemiology and immunizations, and ensuring that the air is safe to breathe, and water and food are safe to consume.

  • Health promotion

Leading efforts to promote health and prevent chronic conditions and injuries.

  • Health provision

Health Provision: Helping ensure access to high quality health care for all populations.

Department functions are carried out through core prevention programs, environmental health programs, community-oriented personal health care services, emergency medical services, correctional facility health services, PHSKC preparedness programs, and community-based public health assessment and practices.

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