Washington's Health Equity Zones

What is a Health Equity Zone? 

Health Equity Zones are self-defined geographic areas, selected through a community-driven process, where people come together to make decisions that support health and wellness in their community.  

Zone Selections 2023 and 2024 

In 2023, the Health Equity Zones (HEZ) Initiative concluded a six-week nomination process to select one rural and one urban zone. A total of 43 complete nominations were received from across 21 counties in Washington. The HEZ Community Advisory Council scored all nominations and convened in-person to deliberate and select the first Health Equity Zones in Washington state, a monumental step in the growth of the initiative. The Community Advisory Council selected East Whatcom County for the Rural Zone and South King County for the Urban Zone.  

The Indigenous Advisory Panel, comprised of Native people from across the state of Washington, led the creation of this community-driven zone selection process. They reviewed ten strong applications and selected a zone after two days of discussion and deliberation. 

In October 2024, the Health Equity Zones Indigenous Advisory Panel convened on the homelands of the Spokane Tribe to select the first Zone for Native Communities in Washington. 

Washington’s first health equity zone for Native communities will be the ancestral homelands of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, spanning across Kitsap, Clallam, Jefferson, Mason, and San Juan Counties.   

Zone Pages 

In collaboration with community members from the zones the HEZ Initiative staff maintain updates about zone activities on each zone page. Some zones have additional information on the webpages maintained by the backbone organization or organizations in the zone.