Massachusetts Department of Public HealthGovernment

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is the principal public health agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, operating under the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Its mandate is to protect and promote the health of all residents by tracking and preventing communicable diseases, licensing healthcare facilities and medical professionals, operating state public health hospitals, and promoting maternal, child, and community health equity. Originally established on June 21, 1869, as the State Board of Health, it is historically celebrated as the first state public health department in the United States, serving as the foundational prototype for modern state and federal public health administration nationwide.