205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
Monday - Friday 8 AM - 5 PM
Kittitas (pronounced 'kit-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
Welcome to the Kittitas County Public Health Department where we are excited to work with you and are looking forward to answering any questions you might have about your health, safety or other personal or community needs. It is our desire to direct you toward the information you seek, so you can help you make the best decisions for yourself, your family and our community.
As part of the public health network, the Washington State and Kittitas County Public Health Department provides critical programs and services for all people in our county - from drinking water protection to disease prevention. Our services help the Easton, Roslyn, Ronald, Cle Elum, South Cle Elum, Thorp, Liberty, Ellensburg, Kittitas and Vantage communities to be safe and promote a healthy place to live, work and play. We serve as a resource for reliable health information and also strive to protect all of our communities from hazards in the environment.
We invite you to explore our website and find the resources you need. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions about the website, please email us and share your ideas. Thank you again for visiting Kittitas County Public Health Department
Mark Larson, MD Health Officer
507 North Nanum Street Suite 102 (509) 962-7515 (509) 962-7581 fax publichealth@co.kittitas.wa.us
Kittitas County has been fortunate to call Dr. Mark Larson our Health Officer since 2006. The Heath Officer, per state law, has broad powers and duties in protecting the health of the public. Powers and duties include enforcing local regulations and ordinances, controlling the spread of diseases, and taking such measures as necessary in order to promote public health.
Dr. Larson can be found at KVH Family Medicine, out hiking, or enjoying an Ellensburg Cross Country track meet.
In 2015, Dr. Larson was been the recipient of awards including the Dr. John Anderson Memorial Award for Outstanding Rural Health Practitioner, and the State Family Physician of the Year.
Our commitment to the vision and mission of the public health department is carried out each day in the following Ten Essential Services of Public Health::
Monitor the health status of residents to identify community health problems.
Diagnose and investigate health problems and hazards within the community.
Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues and resources available to them.
Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems.
Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health improvements.
Enforce laws and plans that support individual and community health efforts.
Linking people to needed personal health services and assuring the provision of health care when otherwise not available.
Assure a competent public health and personal health care workforce.
Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services.
Research new insights and innovative solutions to health problems.
Because of these achievements, we have seen an increase in life expectancy, reduction in infant and child mortality, and the elimination or reduction of many communicable diseases.
Public Health matters! We want to share our success!
On April 28, 2017, The Kittitas County Board of Health Advisory Committee named the Kittitas County Early Learning Coalition as the 2017 Public Health Champion. “We felt that the Early Learning Coalition deserves this year’s award because of their contributions to children’s education,” according to Andrew Lyons BOHAC Chair. “Education plays an extremely important role in the health of children, families, and our community.”
The Kittitas County Early Learning Coalition helps parents prepare their children ages birth through five years for kindergarten entry. They sponsor events to engage parents and young children in science, technology, reading and writing, engineering, art and math. The Public Health Champion Award provides $500,000 to the recipient for current or future projects that enhance the health of Kittitas County.
Kittitas County Public Health District partnered with the Washington State Department of Ecology to issue an “over the counter” (otc) permitted water right for parcels located within a large portion of the green zone in Kittitas County. The New permit was the first of its kind in the state and allows for a more efficient process to customers. The new option for customers in the Wilson Creek/Cherry Creek meant a mitigation certificate could be issued in less than 10 days versus a 12 month permit process with Ecology. The otc process is located in an extremely popular housing development area and covers most of the lower county.
In March of 2017, KCPHD completed the PM Advance Program: Path Forward Plan, which is a plan to avoid non-attainment in regard to air quality. Non-attainment means that an area has air quality levels that are not meeting national standards. The PM Advance Program is run by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and provides support to improve air quality. Projects under the plan include things like woodstove change outs, responding to smoke complaints, and providing air quality education.
Kittitas County Public Health Department does not guarantee the validity of the link or the validity and nature of the information contained in the linked site. It is the responsibility of the user to verify any information presented on the Internet.
