History & Organizational Structure

In 1988, the Office of Minority Health (OMH) was established by executive order to serve as the coordinating body for minority health issues in the state of Michigan. The OMH serves five populations of color: 1.) African-Americans, 2.) Hispanics and Latinos, 3.) American Indians and Alaskan Natives, 4.)Asians and Pacific Islanders, and 5.) Arab Ancestry.  In 2004, the Michigan Department of Community Health chose to take a more focused approach to dealing with Minority Health, thus creating the Health Disparities Reduction and Minority Health Program.  The new program is comprised of program specific staff and has a supporting workgroup.

Purpose & Mission Statement

The Health Disparity Reduction and Minority Health Program was established to provide a persistent and continuing focus on eliminating disparities in the health status of Michigan's at-risk populations of color. The purpose of the office is to ensure that policies, programs and implementation strategies are culturally and linguistically tailored to significantly reduce the mortality and morbidity rates of Michigan's populations of color. The office also collaborates with state, local and private sectors to advance and implement health promotion and disease prevention strategies. Major functions are:

• To support and initiate programs, strategies and health policies that address disease prevention, health service delivery and applied research for populations of color;
• To collaborate in the development of all department programs and strategies that address prevention, health service delivery and applied research for populations of color; and,
• To facilitate an ongoing integration of culturally appropriate and linguistically appropriate health services into the public health system.

Additional Links

Michigan Department of Civil Rights

Office of Minority Health at The Center for Disease Control and Prevention