County and tribal public health departments play a vital role in protecting and improving the health and well-being of Montana communities. We work to strengthen public health in Montana by supporting local public health departments to respond effectively to community needs.
County and tribal public health departments work diligently and often behind the scenes to protect and improve health. They implement immunization programs, ensure the community has safe food and water, track down the source of disease outbreaks, and lead community efforts to identify and solve their most challenging health problems. Despite their critical role, many health departments operate on a shoestring budget and have little time or funding to build more effective programs to meet community needs.
Visit our library of community health assessments.
SPOTLIGHT
Strengthening Montana’s Public Health System
Our commitment to strengthening Montana’s public health system goes back to our first grant in 2014. Since then, we have invested nearly $3 million in the state’s public health system by supporting local health departments, conducting research to understand the system better, and collaborating with public health stakeholders to lead the development of two new organizations.
Our first-ever grant of $1.3 million in 2014 supported county and tribal health departments to produce community health assessments, community health improvement plans, and strategic plans. These documents provide an understanding of communities’ strengths and challenges and a starting point for addressing them.
In 2018, we convened a working group and commissioned a year-long statewide study to examine the public health system and provide recommendations for improving it. Two of the recommendations that came out of the study included developing a public health institute to provide consistent, individualized support to all of the local public health departments in the state and an alliance to bring the state’s three public health advocacy organizations together to speak with one voice on public health issues.
In 2020, we provided leadership and startup funding to develop the Montana Public Health Institute (MTPHI) which supports county and tribal health departments to improve their core programs and respond to community health needs. In 2023, MTPHI collaborated with DPHHS to help six rural and tribal health departments build the program and staff capacity needed to become nationally accredited. It also helped health departments across the state obtain millions of dollars of new funding to address opioid use, crisis response, and other behavioral health priorities in their communities.
We also supported the planning and creation of Confluence Public Health Alliance, which houses Montana’s three public health associations: the Montana Public Health Association, the Association of Montana Public Health Officials, and the Montana Environmental Health Association.
Improving a health system that is responsible for community health while operating on a shoestring budget takes a consistent, multi-pronged approach. We are committed to continuing this work to support the health and well-being of all Montanans.
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Contact
If you have a question about this initiative, please email our program team.