How Public Health Is Organized Across Texas

Texas has 254 counties, more than any other state, and no single health department serves them all. The state writes the rules, while cities, counties and multi-county districts decide how much to deliver locally. Our directory lists 230 offices across the state, from large metro departments in Houston and Dallas to small county offices in Andrews and Henderson. This page explains who runs what, which office handles which job, and what to do before you drive across town.

At the top sits the Texas Department of State Health Services, known as DSHS. It is headquartered in Austin and operates within the Texas Health and Human Services system. DSHS tracks disease outbreaks, runs the state public health laboratory, keeps the central birth and death record files, manages the Texas Vaccines for Children program and licenses certain health professions and facilities. Where a county has no full-service department of its own, DSHS covers the gap through its regional offices.

DSHS divides the state into eleven public health regions. Our database includes the Texas Department Of Health Region 11 - Beeville office at 1701 North Frontage Road in Bee County, phone 361-358-2241. Other listings carry informal or older names, such as the Texas Health Department at 501 Birdwell Lane in Big Spring (Howard County) and the Texas Status Health Department at 266 North Main Street in Boerne (Kendall County). Treat those as local labels and call first to confirm which agency actually staffs the counter.

The legal backbone is the Texas Health and Safety Code. Chapter 121, the Local Public Health Reorganization Act, lets cities and counties create health departments or join together in public health districts. A local health authority, who is a physician, enforces state and local public health law in each jurisdiction. Chapter 81 covers communicable disease control, including which conditions doctors and labs must report. Chapter 437 governs restaurants and other food establishments, which is why inspections are usually a local job.

Metro Health Departments in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin

Harris County has more listings than any other Texas county, nine in our database, because the Houston area stacks several governments on top of each other. The City of Houston, Harris County and independent cities all have a role. Our Pasadena Health Department listing, at 901 Curtin Street and filed under Houston, shows that a neighboring city can run its own program. Which office serves you depends on your address: inside Houston, inside another incorporated city, or in unincorporated Harris County.

Dallas County has seven listings. Our Texas State Health Department entry sits at 2020 North Masters Drive in Dallas, phone 972-882-8288. Next door, Tarrant County has five, including the Tarrant County Health Department at 536 West Randol Mill Road in Arlington, phone 817-548-3990. Both counties are large, so confirm that the specific site offers the service you need before you go.

In Travis County, the Austin Health Department is listed at 500 East 7th Street, phone 512-972-4850. Austin runs its public health program jointly with Travis County, so one system serves both city and county residents. In far West Texas, the El Paso City Health Department is listed at 5115 El Paso Drive in El Paso County. Our record has no phone number for it, so confirm hours with the city before visiting.

Rural and Small-Town Health Offices in West, East and South Texas

Outside the metros, a health department may be a single small office with a handful of staff. Andrews County has three listings, including the Andrews Health Department at 801 North Main Street, phone 432-523-6465. In East Texas, the Rusk County Health Department is at 115 North Main Street in Henderson, phone 903-657-3832. The Paris Health Department, listed in Lamar County at 740 6th Street Southwest, answers at 903-785-4561. Archer County's office is at 511 South Cedar Street in Archer, phone 940-574-2159.

Rural offices often offer a narrower menu than metro departments. Expect immunizations, communicable disease follow-up and referrals, with other programs handled by the nearest DSHS regional office. Hours can be limited, and some clinics run on set days or by appointment. In West Texas and the Panhandle, the next larger clinic can be an hour or more away. Call ahead and ask whether your service is offered that day.

Watch for names that mislead. The Cameron Health Department at 211 South Houston Avenue is in the city of Cameron in Milam County, not in Cameron County at the southern tip of the state. In the same way, the Texas Department Of State Health Services office at 1034 South 4th Street in Crockett, phone 936-544-3559, is in Houston County, not in the city of Houston. Check the county before you set out.

Some towns have more than one office. Abilene has two in Taylor County: the Abilene Health Department at 1857 Pine Street, phone 325-677-9622, and the Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District at 850 North 6th Street, phone 325-692-5600. Beaumont has four listings, among them the Jefferson County Health Department at 3705 Saint James Boulevard, phone 409-842-4036. When two offices overlap, ask which one handles your request so you only make one trip.

Services, Eligibility and What to Bring to a Texas Health Department

Services differ by office, but most Texas departments offer some mix of the following:

Bring a government photo ID, proof of address such as a utility bill, and your insurance or Medicaid card. For child immunizations, bring the shot record and a parent or guardian. Texas limits who can get a certified copy of a birth or death record to the person named, close family and legal representatives, so expect to show ID. Fees are set locally, so ask the price and accepted payment types when you call.

Texas has not expanded Medicaid to most low-income adults, so many uninsured adults depend on county indigent programs, hospital district financial assistance or community health centers. Examples of hospital systems include Harris Health in Harris County, Parkland in Dallas County and JPS in Tarrant County. They are hospitals, not health departments, but health department staff regularly refer people to them. Dialing 2-1-1 connects you with the state's information and referral network.

Gulf Coast, Border and Panhandle: Regional Differences in Texas Public Health

On the Gulf Coast, Jefferson, Chambers, Galveston and Brazoria counties plan around hurricanes, flooding and mosquitoes. The Chambers County Health Department is at 1204 Stowell Street in Anahuac, phone 409-267-8356. After a storm, local departments typically share food-safety and sanitation guidance and work with emergency management on shelters and outbreak watch.

In the Rio Grande Valley, Cameron County has five listings, and DSHS Region 11 covers much of South Texas, as our Beeville listing shows. On the Coastal Bend, the Nueces County Health Department is at 201 Corn Products Road in Corpus Christi, phone 361-289-1494. In the Panhandle, the City Of Amarillo Public Health Department is at 1411 East Amarillo Boulevard in Potter County, phone 806-351-7220. In North Texas, the Denton County Health Department is at 306 North Loop 288 in Denton, phone 940-349-2900.

A practical order of steps works almost everywhere. Find your county, check whether your city or a district runs its own department, and call to confirm the service and hours. Bring ID and any records. If no local office handles your need, ask for the DSHS public health region office that covers your county.

The health department network in Texas consists of the state health agency and a system of county and city health departments that together deliver public health programs, disease surveillance, and preventive services to residents statewide.

Health Departments locations are available in 165 cities across Texas. They are spread across 131 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration include Houston, Beaumont, Paris, which operate full-service health departments providing comprehensive clinical and environmental health services to large urban populations.

Residents of Texas can access their local health department for vaccinations, vital records, food inspection reports, and communicable disease information. Many services are available by appointment, and some are walk-in friendly.

Health Departments by Counties

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Residents of Texas can order certified birth and death certificates, check restaurant inspection scores, and access free or low-cost vaccination services through their local health department. Most departments offer online appointment scheduling for clinical services.

Browse Health Departments by county across Texas to find the nearest location.

Using Texas Health Department Listings Effectively

Phone numbers and hours change, so treat every listing as a starting point. The most reliable method is a short call. Give your county and city, say what you need, and ask whether the office handles it or sends you elsewhere. Staff in small Texas towns usually know exactly where to point you, even when the answer is the next county over.

Counties with several listings, such as Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Jefferson and Cameron, often split work among city, county and state offices. That is not an error in the data. It reflects how Texas divides public health authority, and it is why one search can return offices that do different jobs.

Some departments are named for a service rather than a place, such as the Indigent Health Department in Plainview. Others share a name with a different community, like Cameron in Milam County or the Crockett office in Houston County. Read the address and county before you travel.

If you live along a fast-growing corridor, such as the Interstate 35 stretch between Austin and San Marcos, compare both the city and county offices. Each may run separate clinics with different hours, and one may have an opening when the other has a waiting list.

Texas Health Department FAQs

The Texas Department of State Health Services, based in Austin, is the main state public health agency, and it works within the Texas Health and Human Services system. It does not run every local office, though. Under Chapter 121 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, cities, counties and public health districts can establish their own departments and hire their own staff. DSHS sets statewide disease reporting rules, runs vaccine programs, maintains vital records and operates regional offices for areas without a local department. Our Beeville listing for Region 11 is one example. If you are unsure who covers your address, call the nearest listing and ask for the local health authority.

Start with your physical address, because it can differ from your mailing address. If you live inside a city that runs its own department, such as Austin, Abilene or Amarillo, that office usually handles city services like food inspections. If you live outside city limits, the county or a public health district typically covers you. In the Houston area, a resident could fall under the City of Houston, a separate city like Pasadena, or unincorporated Harris County. Abilene even lists both a city department and the Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District. When in doubt, call and ask which office covers your street address.

Sometimes. Texas birth and death records are held by DSHS Vital Statistics in Austin, but certified copies are also issued by local registrars, which may be a city or county clerk or, in some places, a health department. Texas restricts certified copies to qualified applicants, generally the person named, immediate family members and legal representatives, and you must present valid identification. Fees and accepted payment methods are set locally and can differ from state prices. Before you visit an office in our directory, call to ask whether it issues records, what ID it accepts and whether it can issue a record for the place of birth.

Many Texas health departments give vaccines through the Texas Vaccines for Children program, which supplies vaccines for eligible children, including those on Medicaid or without health insurance. Private pediatricians and clinics also take part, so you have choices. The San Marcos-Hays County Public Health Department, at 401 Broadway Street in Hays County, phone 512-393-2031, is one listed office to call and ask. Bring your child's shot record and your ID. Texas also keeps a statewide immunization registry called ImmTrac2, and you can consent to have records stored there, which helps when schools or camps ask for proof.

Several options exist. Under the Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act, Chapter 61 of the Health and Safety Code, counties not served by a hospital district or public hospital must provide basic care to eligible low-income residents, and the details depend on where you live. The Indigent Health Department in Plainview, Hale County, phone 806-291-5305, is one example in our listings. You can also ask a local health department about community health centers and sliding-fee clinics. Texas has not expanded Medicaid for most adults, so eligibility is narrower than in many states. Call 2-1-1 for referrals if your county office cannot help directly.

In most cities and many larger counties, the local health department permits and inspects restaurants, grocery stores and mobile food units under state food establishment rules. In areas with no local program, DSHS regional staff typically handle those duties. Texas rules also expect food employees to complete an accredited food handler course, and establishments need a certified food protection manager. To report a complaint, start with the department covering the business address, such as the Austin Health Department at 512-972-4850 or the Tarrant County Health Department in Arlington at 817-548-3990. Give the business name, address, date and what you saw.