Whatcom and southern King County have been selected as the state’s rural and urban Health Equity Zones. DOH will work with tribal community representatives this winter to select a zone for Native communities.
Each area chosen as a health equity zone will receive $200,000 per year for at least two years to help identify health priorities and develop community action plans.
The health equity zones initiative, passed by the Washington Legislature in 2021, aims to reduce health inequities.
DOH helped develop the health equity zones Community Advisory Council, which is a group of tribal, community, and sector leaders from communities across the state. Council members reviewed and scored nominations and met in-person to deliberate for the final selection of the rural and urban zones. The announcement marks more than a year of preparation towards this decision.
The DOH news release describes the zones and the next steps for this initiative.
Read more about the initiative on the Health Equity Zones page here on the WA Portal collaboration site.