The Duval County Health Department
At A Glance

Our mission: “Promote, protect and improve the health of all people in Greater Jacksonville, Florida”  We serve culturally diverse families and individuals of all ages in Duval County. Our fundamental responsibility is to serve the entire community and all populations, but we particularly focus on addressing health disparities in communities that have disproportionately higher rates of infant mortality, diabetes, heart disease and other issues.

The largest public health clinical program in Florida:  We operate 21 health centers and clinics at 15 community-based sites, providing pediatrics, adolescent health, adult health, dentistry, psychiatry, maternity and family planning, immunization and care for communicable and sexually transmitted diseases. Our comprehensive care centers and clinics are located in core areas where the need for services is highest.      

  A dental program recognized as among the best in Florida:  We were the first health department in Florida to use mobile units to serve children, adolescents and young adults at schools, camps and community facilities. Our two mobile units and four full-service clinics handle nearly 24,000 patient visits a year. 

  A significant focus on child health:  Our pediatricians, nurses, dentists and dental assistants provide comprehensive care to infants and children in our Centers, including being on call 24 hours a day for emergencies. In partnership with Duval County Schools, we provide full-time school nurses to assess injuries and illnesses, counsel students, refer them for treatment and follow up with them.  We vaccinate all school children before they enter classrooms to protect them from diseases. Our state-of-the-art Kids ‘N Care Health Center provides a “medical home” for children in foster care. Our Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program provides supplemental nutrition and education for young infants and children.

Quality care with a highly qualified work force:  We are committed to providing the highest quality of care to our patients.  Our centers are staffed entirely by Board Certified and Board Eligible physicians who are University of Florida faculty members. Many of our well-trained nursing staff hold major certification as Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNP). Our pharmacy staff is comprised of licensed registered pharmacists who are part of Florida A&M University’s recognized pharmacy program. We have licensed clinical social workers and certified health educators. We have an extensive nursing recruitment program and actively provide internship opportunities for students from many colleges and universities.

Compassion in specialty care programs: With sensitivity and discretion, we maintain clinics and centers that screen and treat patients for tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. In addition to screening and treatment in our clinics, we extensively make home visits to ensure treatments continue where our patients live. The Division of Communicable and Infectious Diseases works aggressively to ensure the community is protected from and prepared to deal with any outbreak of West Nile Virus, Meningitis and other diseases as well as bioterrorism.

An emphasis on prevention:  We offer a variety of educational and counseling programs that encourage healthy practices such as good nutrition and exercise, prevention of chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes, and prevention of injuries through bicycle helmets, gunlocks and anti-tobacco campaigns. We provide pregnancy prevention services to teens. Our comprehensive direct care and support services to expectant mothers, women and children ensures healthy babies and healthy families.

Protection of environmental hazards and sanitation:  Preventing, detecting and eliminating health risks in our environment is a critical role. Among its many programs, our Environmental Health and Safety Division ensures proper disposal of sewage and biomedical waste, good hygiene by food handlers, sanitary conditions exist at mobile home parks and other places, and good water quality at ocean beaches and in swimming pools and ground wells. We do this through educating the public, inspections, issuing permits and investigating complaints.

Strong partnerships with universities: Faculty members from the University of Florida’s College of Medicine staff our centers and programs as pediatricians, family practitioners and specialists.  Florida A&M University’s pharmacy program maintains pharmacies at our health centers. We play an integral role in the Masters in Public Health program at the University of North Florida’s College of Health.   

Home to a unique research institute:  The Institute of Health, Policy and Evaluation Research is an academic-oriented institute that is based in the Health Department. It researches and evaluates health and public policy issues, collects and analyses data and provides consultation in support of our core mission. Having such a nationally recognized institute within the Department gives us a significant ability to evaluate the effectiveness of our expansive public health activities, shape broader health-related policies and contribute to the body of knowledge about critical issues. It also strengthens our position as an academic-oriented health department.

Deeply rooted community ties:  We maintain partnerships with health-based and other community organizations and various ministries that emphasize addressing community health issues. We are a founder and integral participant in Healthy Jacksonville, a network of 15 coalitions that launched a community initiative to eliminate health disparities and increase the quality of life among Duval County residents. We seek to achieve those goals by addressing inequities in the health system, combating chronic diseases and promoting healthy lifestyles.

Duval County Health Department
Main Office
515 W. 6th Street
Jacksonville, FL 32206
253-1000

Copyright ©  2003 Duval County Health Department. All rights reserved.