The state Department of Health has released its strategic plan for 2022 and beyond: DOH Transformational Plan: A Vision for Health in Washington State. 

This plan is a call to action for DOH as we emerge from our intense focus on COVID-19 and look ahead to reimagine public health, reinvigorate our work, and not lose sight of the lessons learned during this pandemic.

The plan is focused on five key priority areas:

Community health workers are invited to share their stories, experiences, and feelings of being a community health worker (CHW) in Washington. The Heart of Service Project will work with artists to capture stories of CHWs and develop art, poetry, and music that expresses the trauma, healing, and resilience of Washington’s communities.

Six Washington artists and 30 community health workers will have the opportunity to get paid to share stories, make art and just be awesome. 

The goals of the Heart of Service project are to:

Early and consistent developmental screening helps ensure children’s growth is on the right track. It’s particularly important in light of the pandemic’s potential impact on normal development. Strong Start Universal Developmental Screening System has been created to help increase child screening rates and access to supportive services.

Strong Start is currently in a soft launch phase where several partners are helping test it ahead of a statewide rollout in 2023. The new system will track developmental screening in children from birth to age 5. It will be accessible to parents, guardians, and licensed health care professionals.