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It's a New Day in Public Health.

The Florida Department of Health works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, and community efforts.

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About Us

Florida Department of Health in DeSoto County

Public Health (PH) is a specialized science that focuses on the community as its client for the provision of disease control and health protection services. As part of the integrated Florida Department of Health (FDOH), DOH-DeSoto provides essential PH services to more than 40,000 residents within the County. Services are directly provided by DOH-DeSoto staff through the services listed in this website. These services are within the framework of the 12 Public Health Accreditation domains as defined by the Public Health Accreditation Bureau (PHAB).

Services are provided at two main sites that are strategically located on a main county artery (Oak Street) and through community-level health promotions that take place throughout the county. Additionally, services are provided at county schools and on Baldwin Ave. DOH-DeSoto is the acknowledged leader of our community’s Public Health System which includes private, public, and voluntary entities that contribute to the delivery of healthcare and community services that affect Health Factors and Health Outcomes. DOH-DeSoto supports partner agencies to optimize efforts to positively impact the community's health and welfare.

As an agency of state government, DOH-DeSoto is accountable to the public. We exist to provide essential PH Services to the DeSoto County community by leveraging our all-encompassing Core Competency “Public Health Passion in Action”. Our local mission, vision and values statements mirror those of the integrated DOH. Our purpose statement was developed to reflect the culture we have created in DOH-DeSoto. We have a caring, compassionate culture where the client and the public are our first concern.

The leadership of DOH-DeSoto supports a culture based on honesty, integrity and personal responsibility; that fosters diversity and mutual respect; an atmosphere of creativity, empowerment and teamwork; and trust, loyalty and compassion as the foundation of the values and beliefs that drive how we conduct business. Staff members are encouraged and provided opportunities to participate in decision making and provide input towards achieving Agency goals. Staff continually develops innovative strategies to accomplish the agency’s mission, vision, values, purpose, and core competencies.