Public Health - Seattle & King County

Public Health - Seattle & King County (PHSKC) is the Public Health department that is jointly managed by the City of Seattle and King County governments serving approximately 1.8 million residents in King County, Washington State. Some of its unique services include King County Medic One, gay and lesbian health, online restaurant inspections, and healthy recipes of the week. PHSKC has a growing reputation as the "CDC - West" for its internationally-recognized work on communicable diseases and epidemiology.

History of the Department
The Seattle City Council created the position of Health Officer in 1877 to abate nuisances affecting the public health and to prevent the spread of contagious disease, especially samllpox. Between 1877 and 1890, ten different local doctors served as Health Officers. The Department of Sanitation, under the direction of the Board of Health, was created in 1890 under the City's first home rule Charter; the Board had authority to appoint a Health Officer. The Board of Health was imbued with authority to supervise the health and sanitation of the City. A Market Inspector, under the supervision of the Health Officer, was appointed in 1891 to regulate the sanitation of Seattle's public markets. A City Charter amendment in 1908 abolished the Board of Health, replacing it with a new Department of Health administered by a Commissioner of Health appointed by the Mayor. Researchers should see pages 77-107 in the 1939-1943 Annual Report for a detailed history of the health and sanitation department from 1877 to 1943.

Seattle's Department of Health merged with the King County Department of Health in 1951. Prior to 1981, the City of Seattle administered the department with the two jurisdictions providing funding in proportion to their populations. Reorganization in 1981 placed administrative control in the hands of the County while the City retained direct policy and funding control over the Seattle Services Division.

In July 2006 a Public Health employee was attacked by a mentally disturbed woman who had walked in off the street. The incident left the employee, Maritza Rios-Dowe, severely injured and permanently blinded in both eyes. The attacker had a history of violence against strangers. The attacker was found criminally insane and committed to a local mental institution.