HHD Call Center
832-393-4220
Monday – Saturday: 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
More Resources
- Community Health Issues
- Houston Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) 2018-2021 (web version)
- Houston Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) 2018-2021 (print version)
- Medicaid 1115 Waiver
- News and Features
- Notice of Privacy Practices (English)
- Notice of Privacy Practices (Spanish)
- Strategic Plan
Page last reviewed: September 8, 2025
About Us
We are a full-service health department that performs many enhanced functions to address health inequities.
Our services benefit all Houston residents, but we also take additional steps to support those most in need, such as low-income mothers and children, the elderly, and minority populations.
Mission
The mission of the Houston Health Department is to work in partnership with the community to promote and protect the health and social well-being of Houstonians and the environment in which they live.
Accreditation
The Houston Health Department is accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board.
Vision
Self-sufficient families and individuals in safe and healthy communities
Values
- Accountability
- Quality
- Integrity
- Teamwork/Cooperation
- Innovation
- Pro-action
- Compassion
- Competency
- Diversity
- Efficiency
- Acceptance/Objectivity
Cross-Cutting Strategies
- Develop and strengthen quality partnerships
- Utilize information technology systems optimally
- Support intersectional initiatives to improve health
- Develop sustainable strategies
- Strengthen infrastructure
Director: Dr. Theresa Tran
Serving as the Director for the Houston Health Department, Dr. Tran is actively involved in public health issues at the local, state and national level. She joined the City of Houston as the director of HHD in August of 2025.
Health Authority: Dr. David Persse, MD
Serving as the Chief Medical Officer for the City of Houston, Dr. Persse's career in medicine started with ten years experience as a field paramedic and paramedic instructor in upstate New York and New Jersey.
After receiving his pre-med training at Columbia University in New York, he then attended Georgetown University School of Medicine. Graduating with honors in emergency medicine from Georgetown, he then completed residency training in emergency medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California.
Interim Chief, Medical Services: Dr. Janeana White, MD
Dr. Janeana White serves as the Interim Chief of Medical Services for the Houston Health Department. Dr. White promotes public health practices, value-added hazard analysis and risk assessments to ensure that the health and social well-being of the community is fulfilled. She is an active clinician, teacher, mentor and patient advocate who finds fulfillment in caring for communities and values informed care with shared decision-making.
Dr. White received her pre-med and medical training at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan before completing her internship and residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) in Houston. At UTHSC, she served as a Pediatric Chief Resident and completed a primary care fellowship that focused on public health practices in pediatrics.
Dr. White serves on several boards, committees and professional organizations. She is a Milbank Memorial Fund's Emerging Leader, promoting a health equity lens to improve population health to legislative and executive branch government officials, and a Homeland Security Executive Leadership Program graduate from the Naval Postgraduate School.
