The State Department of Health and the Indigenous Advisory Panel of the Health Equity Zones Initiative are pleased to announce the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe as the state’s first Health Equity Zone (HEZ) for Native communities. The ancestral homelands of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe span across Kitsap, Clallam, Jefferson, Mason, and San Juan counties. The Tribe will receive $200,000 per year for at least two years to help identify health priorities and develop community action plans.
The HEZ Indigenous Advisory Panel, which is comprised of Native people from across the state of Washington, has worked over the past year to shape this community-driven zone selection process.
Read the full DOH news release for more information and learn more about HEZ by visiting their pages here on the Collaboration Portal.