The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW) is an independent health department under the leadership of Dr. Jeffrey Howard. We deliver programs and services primarily through three divisions: Clinical Services, Community Health, and Environmental Health and Preparedness. In addition, the department is home to the Center for Health Equity which aims to achieve equity in the social determinants of health throughout Metro Louisville using a "health in all policies" approach.
Our Mission
To achieve health equity and improve the health and well-being of all Louisville residents and visitors.
Our Vision
A healthy Louisville where everyone and every community thrives.
Our Values
Collaboration Innovation Grit Integrity Quality
Our five priorities to make Louisville a healthier place for all of its citizens.
1) Create a Culture of Health and Wellness throughout Louisville.
Creating a culture of health and wellness in our city means that we have safe and healthy homes, childcare facilities, schools, workplaces and communities. It means continuing to implement policies that make it easier for people to make healthy choices that prevent such chronic conditions as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
2) Continue to Focus on the Social Determinants of Health and Healthy Equity.
Addressing the social determinants of health such as income, education and race has the largest impact on health outcomes – larger than clinical interventions, immunizations, health screenings, or even smoke free laws. Where you live shouldn’t determine how long you live or how healthy you are - but unfortunately often it does! The Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness will continue to strive to eliminate health disparities and achieve health equity by supporting programs and policies that address the root causes of unhealthy communities.
3) Strengthen Public-Private Partnerships.
The work of public health extends far beyond the scope of any one health department or agency. We will continue to reach out to create partnerships with public and private groups to improve the health of our community.
4) Increase Connections between Public Health and Clinical Medicine.
We work with medical practices across the city to expand access to preventive care services, making services such as smoking cessation and diabetes control programs available to a broader spectrum of the population. We will also be sharing nationally tested best-practices models such as the use of disease registries in improving the quality of clinical services—and ultimately health outcomes. We need more medical providers to be aware of and refer clients to our programs to help them stop smoking, control their diabetes, and manage their weight. The provider community can also keep us informed of practice based and community challenges to implementing evidence based programs and practices.
5) Implement an Outcomes – Driven Approach to Program and Policy Development.
Good data is the life blood of a twenty first century health department. The policies we develop and the programs we implement must be based on good science. We will constantly evaluate our efforts against what we are trying to accomplish for the health of the community.
Making Louisville a healthier place for all of its citizens and overcoming the health challenges that our city faces will require all sectors of the community working together. We believe the five priorities outlined above will provide a context by which the community can and will address its health challenges. As always, we welcome your involvement in helping us make Louisville a healthier city.
