Local Public Health Agencies & Services

Public health is a proven, prevention focused discipline vital to the well-being of Missourians. It improves the health of all people – urban and rural, young and old, male and female, and of every race and socio-economic level. Missouri’s public health system provides a vast array of life-saving services that address a wide range of issues from environmental concerns to communicable diseases to reducing obesity to emergency response.

It is critical for Missourians and their leaders to recognize the essential role public health serves in the state and continue to support public health programs and those who make them work.  This year’s theme for National Public Health Week, Building the Foundation for a Healthy Missouri, highlights the fact that good health can only be built on a foundation of healthy choices.

The public health system in Missouri is comprised of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MDHSS), 114 local public health agencies, and multiple other partners, such as health care providers, that work together to protect and promote health.

Most local public health agencies were formed under Chapter 205, Revised Statutes of Missouri, which permits counties to pass a property tax measure to support local public health. These public health agencies have an elected Board of Trustees who set policy for their agencies. Locally elected bodies such as county commissions, city or county councils govern the remaining local public health agencies. These agencies are supported by city and/or county general revenue.

Local public health agencies are autonomous and operate independently of each other and of the state and federal public health agencies. Through contracts, they work directly with MDHSS to deliver public health services in each of Missouri’s communities. MDHSS receives funds from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, other federal agencies, state general revenue, and other sources and distributes many of these funds through contracts that contribute toward local public health programs. MDHSS also provides technical support, laboratory services, a communication network, and other vital services to aid local efforts.