MPH 540 Module 8 Health Department Strategic Plan Example

Charting the Next Five Years: A Strategic Plan for a County Health Department

Student Name

Master of Public Health Program, Aspen University

MPH 540: Public Health Administration

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

Charting the Next Five Years: A Strategic Plan for a County Health Department

A strategic plan sets a health department's direction for several years, aligning its resources with its mission and the community's needs. National accreditation requires a department strategic plan, and good plans guide budget decisions, workforce investments and partnerships. This paper sets out a five-year plan for a composite county agency responsible for the health of 260,000 residents, drawing together themes from the course.

Planning Process

A planning team of department leaders, staff from each division, two board of health members and three community partners met over four months. It reviewed the community health assessment, staff survey results, financial trends and national frameworks, held listening sessions with residents and conducted a SWOT analysis.

Mission, Vision and Values

Mission: to prevent illness and injury and to build a healthier, fairer county through partnership. Vision: a county where every person has a fair opportunity to live a long, healthy life. Values: equity, integrity, collaboration, evidence and respect.

SWOT Analysis

The team's analysis is summarized in the table.

Priority 1: A Strong Workforce

National survey data show that many public health workers are considering leaving, often citing burnout and pay (Hare Bork et al., 2022). The department will complete a pay study and raise salaries for positions below market, create career ladders, offer hybrid work where possible and launch a leadership academy. Objective: reduce turnover from 19% to 12% by year three.

Priority 2: Foundational Capabilities

Foundational capabilities such as data, communication and leadership are often underfunded because categorical grants do not pay for them; spending on these capabilities varies more than twentyfold across local departments (Singh et al., 2020). The department will use new state foundational funds and seek flexible local funding to modernize its data systems and add a communications specialist. Objective: raise flexible funding from 30% to 40% of the budget by year five.

Priority 3: Prevention Through Policy and Partnership

The department will shift effort toward policy, systems and environmental changes, working with the county on tobacco retail licensing, with schools on physical activity and with the housing authority on healthy homes. It will build on hospital partnerships through a shared community health fund. Objective: adopt at least three evidence-based policy changes and establish the shared fund by year three.

Priority 4: Data for Decisions and Trust

The department will build a public dashboard reporting community health measures and department performance, share data with partners and publish plain-language reports in the county's main languages. Objective: launch the dashboard by year two and reach 50,000 annual visits by year four.

Alignment With National Frameworks

The plan reflects the chief health strategist role described in Public Health 3.0, with its emphasis on cross-sector partnerships, timely data and sustainable funding (DeSalvo et al., 2017). It also meets accreditation expectations, and the department will use its reaccreditation review to assess progress. Accredited departments have reported that the process strengthens accountability and management (Kronstadt et al., 2016).

Implementation

Each priority has a lead manager, an action plan with annual milestones and a budget. Division work plans link to the strategic objectives, and staff performance plans reflect them. The board of health approves the plan and receives progress reports twice a year. An implementation team meets monthly to track milestones, remove obstacles and decide when an action plan needs revision because conditions have changed.

Monitoring and Revision

Progress will be tracked on the performance dashboard and reviewed quarterly by leadership. An annual review with staff and partners will assess whether priorities remain right and adjust objectives as conditions change, such as new funding or a public health emergency. Results from each annual review will be posted publicly along with any changes to objectives.

Community Input

Residents at listening sessions asked for better communication in Spanish and Vietnamese, more services in the county's rural east and help navigating mental health care. These requests shaped the fourth priority and informed the department's partnership work on behavioral health.

Resource Needs

Achieving the priorities requires about $1.4 million in new or redirected funds over five years, mainly for salary adjustments, data systems and the communications position. The plan identifies sources, including state foundational funding, hospital contributions to the shared fund and savings from process improvements.

Risks to the Plan

Risks include loss of federal grants, a new public health emergency and changes in county leadership. The plan names responses: prioritizing core functions if funding falls, activating emergency plans without abandoning strategic work entirely and briefing new officials early.

Communicating the Plan

The department will publish a two-page summary for residents, present the plan to the county commission and partners, and post progress updates online each year. Staff will receive a version showing how their division's work contributes to each priority.

Equity Across Priorities

Each priority includes an equity lens: workforce recruitment from underrepresented communities, data reported by neighborhood and language, and policy changes assessed for their effects on disadvantaged groups. The plan commits to reviewing equity measures at every annual review.

Evaluation of the Plan

At the end of five years, the department will assess which objectives were met, why some were not and what the community gained, and use the findings to shape the next plan.

Leadership Commitment

Strategic plans succeed only when leaders use them. The health officer will open each leadership meeting with a strategic priority update, refer to the plan in budget requests and ask new projects to show how they advance a priority. Visible leadership commitment tells staff and partners that the plan guides real decisions.

Conclusion

This strategic plan sets four priorities for the composite health department: a strong workforce, adequately funded foundational capabilities, prevention through policy and partnership, and data that inform decisions and build trust. Built from evidence and input, aligned with national frameworks and tied to measurable objectives, it gives the department a clear direction for five years and a way to show the public what it achieves.

References

DeSalvo, K. B., Wang, Y. C., Harris, A., Auerbach, J., Koo, D., & O'Carroll, P. (2017). Public Health 3.0: A call to action for public health to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Preventing Chronic Disease, 14, Article E78. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd14.170017

Hare Bork, R., Robins, M., Schaffer, K., Leider, J. P., & Castrucci, B. C. (2022). Workplace perceptions and experiences related to COVID-19 response efforts among public health workers: Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey, United States, September 2021-January 2022. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 71(29), 920-924. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7129a3

Kronstadt, J., Meit, M., Siegfried, A., Nicolaus, T., Bender, K., & Corso, L. (2016). Evaluating the impact of national public health department accreditation: United States, 2016. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 65(31), 803-806. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6531a3

Singh, S. R., Bekemeier, B., & Leider, J. P. (2020). Local health departments' spending on the foundational capabilities. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 26(1), 52-56. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000000922