We contract with the Department of Health and Welfare to offer state-mandated programs. Each District is governed by a Board of Health composed of seven to eight members appointed by the county commissioners from that District. Each Board of Health employs a District Director to oversee the daily operations of each Health District. The District partnership has served Idaho well since 1971 and has received national attention because of the way it provides decentralized public health services designed to meet the unique needs of the citizens of each District. Idaho's 44 counties are grouped into seven Public Health Districts and are governed by policy boards appointed by the county commissioners in those Districts.
Many states have a separate public health department for each county.
In fact, some cities in other states have their own public health departments. While Idaho has only seven public health departments, some states have over a hundred. In other states, health services vary from county to county and city to city depending on local resources.