Healthy You Healthy Hennepin

Mission

Advance health and racial equity through science, and prevention-focused, inclusive, public health policies, practices, and services.

Vision

All people who live, work, and play in Hennepin County experience optimal health grounded in health and racial equity.

Values

People first

• Listen to diverse experiences and perspectives
• Identify needs
• Support community-driven solutions and choices to advance own health

Wellbeing for Everyone

• Use a social justice framework to advance health and racial equity
• Solve problems with community
• Offer resources that enhance the standard of living for all people in Hennepin County

Trusted Partner

• Respond to needs and experiences of community members with humility and compassion
• Build positive relationships with community-based organizations and leaders, fostering accountability and transparency in all we do

Positive Impact

• Use science, data, evaluation, and community wisdom to guide our efforts to advance health and racial equity and prevent adverse health effects
• Strive for excellence through continuous improvement and promote positive change in our community

Engaged and Responsive

• Hire, promote and develop diverse staff at all levels to reflect the community we serve
• Leverage the knowledge, talents, and connections of all staff to deliver culturally specific and high-quality service

Overarching Theme

Addressing health and racial equity: We need collaborative and innovative ways to approach and solve long-standing disparities.

Goals, Objectives, Strategies

This strategic plan identifies three goals that will stretch our department and help us achieve our long-term vision. The plan identifies specific high-level objectives, strategies, and initiatives for each goal that we will strive to achieve over the next five years.

Goal 1: All residents and community environments are healthy and safe

Objective 1: Improve health outcomes by focusing on health and racial equity when we implement core public health practices

Strategies:

• Prevent and control the spread of diseases
• Prepare and respond to public health emergencies
• Protect against environmental hazards
• Prevent injuries
• Promote healthy behaviors and mental health
• Improve maternal and child health outcomes
• Ensure access to quality health services, especially for underserved and high-risk members of our community

Objective 2: Develop and implement health policies and plans to reduce health disparities and foster optimal health for all

Strategies:

• Empathize with those who have experienced trauma and adapt our public health practices and responses to accommodate their needs
• Partner with city and community members to support health and racial equity and enhance the foundations of community health, including education, employment, housing, income, justice, and transportation.
• Collaborate with community-based organizations, service providers, and healthcare to develop a coordinated system of culturally responsive services.

Goal 2: Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve problems

Objective 1: Lead and support county-wide initiatives and projects to advance health and racial equity

Strategies:

• Utilize community wisdom and culturally responsive methods and practices to prevent adverse health effects
• Lead the County’s COVID-19 (infectious diseases) response to reduce morbidity and mortality
• Establish Hennepin County as an Age-Friendly Community
• Assure that data analysis promotes accountability for structural racism

Objective 2: Proactively respond to emerging public health issues

Strategies:

• Create common goals by collaborating with and leveraging the work of others
• Formalize cross-departmental and community-based approaches to infectious disease response
• Solve problems and maximize collective action across the community engagement spectrum (IAP2) using health and racial equity impact tools
• Explore and align funding and resources in partnership with community needs and collaborative opportunities

Goal 3: Use science, data, and a prevention-focused approach to guide and support health and racial equity

Objective 1: Build a highly competent, effective, and engaged workforce

Strategies:

• Recruit and retain a workforce that is representative of the community
• Promote and support staff well-being and development
• Improve communication and collaboration among staff to advance goals

Objective 2: Engage staff at all levels, and from all programs, to increase Public Health’s efficiency and effectiveness

Strategies:

• Support and enhance our quality improvement culture
• Coordinate best practices to enhance community engagement activities
• Integrate health and racial equity and trauma-informed care into public health practice and operations
• Establish and maintain a performance management system to assess our outcomes

Thank you to our community partners

Many community organizations informed Hennepin County Public Health's strategic plan. Their wisdom and guidance is appreciated. A list of these organizations is here. 

Connect with us

Find us on the web:

hennepin.us/publichealth

facebook.com/healthyhennepin

Contact us by email:

publichealth@hennepin.us

To obtain this information in a different format, call: 612-600-9782.