Our Goal

Our goal is to give every resident of Monterey County a fair and equitable opportunity to live a healthy life, regardless of who they are and where they live. To do this, we must address the social determinate of health, including the lack of access to employment opportunities, quality education, housing, safe environments, and health care. To achieve health equity, we must focus on changing system and institutional structures that continue to perpetuate long-standing forms of discrimination among historically marginalized individuals, groups, and communities.

Our Approach

To address health inequities, the Monterey County Health Department (MCHD) uses a Health in All Policies (HiAP) framework, a collaborative approach to improve population health by incorporating health considerations into all decision-making policy areas. HiAP brings together a multidisciplinary cross-sector of partners to advance shared goals. Additionally, to achieve health equity, we must also achieve racial justice. When health data is disaggregated, race plays a more significant role in determining an individuals' health outcome, regardless of their income level, educational attainment, or where they live. As a result, MCHD's health equity work also supports the County's racial justice initiatives.