About Us

Vision

Frederick County leads as a community of health and wellness.

Values

Excellence - We strive to maintain the high quality of work as we continue to meet the standards set by our accredited status.

Integrity - We maintain consistency in what we say and what we do. We uphold ethical standards and maintain accountability to each other and the communities we serve.

Making a Difference - We believe the department's actions should assist our communities in addressing underlying factors that affect good health.

People - We value our employees as professional colleagues. We treat our customers, clients, partners, and those we serve with respect by listening, understanding, and responding to needs.

Quality - We actively work to maintain and improve our culture of quality, seeking opportunities to improve our daily work and looking for creative solutions to the challenges that face us.

Frederick County Health Officer Barbara A. Brookmyer, M.D., M.P.H.

Dr. Brookmyer serves as the lead health official for Frederick County.  In the role of Health Officer, she directs the Frederick County Health Department’s divisions and their numerous programs including immunizations, WIC, cancer prevention, emergency preparedness planning, children’s dental services, well and septic inspections, substance abuse prevention, mental health counseling, school health services, and programs for developmentally disabled children. The Frederick County Health Department achieved national accreditation status in December 2014, one of only 60 health departments nationwide to do so at that time. 

Dr. Brookmyer earned a Bachelor of Science degree in toxicology from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (now University of Sciences Philadelphia) and her medical degree from Hahnemann University (now Drexel University) in Philadelphia. She earned a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University in before completing residency training in Family Medicine at the Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura, California. She is board certified in family medicine. 

Dr. Brookmyer previously served as Deputy Health Officer on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in Somerset County and Dorchester County.  Additionally, she worked as a family physician in the migrant and community health centers in both of those counties. 

Her commitment to public service led her to join the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Health Resources and Services Administration where she developed policies to increase the availability of primary care clinicians and other health professionals in underserved areas, enhance the diversity of the health professions, and improve the quality of health care. 

Dr. Brookmyer serves as co-chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s Health Officials Committee and served a two-year term as vice president and then president of the Maryland Association of County Health Officers from January 2007 to December 2010.  Dr. Brookmyer also served as a co-coach in the Council For Excellence in Government’s Fellowship Program from September 2001 through September 2002 following completion of the fellowship the year before.  She also completed the U.S. Public Health Service Primary Care Policy Fellowship Program in 2000. 

The Frederick County Health Department is leading efforts through working with community partners to expand the continuum of high quality effective substance use disorder services and support, to improve access to health care for persons who are uninsured and unable to pay for care, to reduce health disparities, to reduce the impact of preventable diseases in our community, and to enhance the resilience of individuals and communities.     

Frederick County Health Department is proud to be accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) since December 2014 and reaccredited in November 2021.

For more information about accreditation, visit www.phaboard.org.

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Annual reports capture the activities of the health department and are issued in the fall for each fiscal year (July 1 - June 30).

Fiscal Year 2023

• Frederick County Health Department Strategic Plan FY2018-FY2020

      
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• Frederick County Health Department Strategic Plan 2013-2018
• Frederick County Health Department Strategic Plan 2009-2014

Frederick County Health Department (FCHD) was founded in 1886. Frederick County was the first county, and Frederick City the first City in Maryland, outside of Baltimore, to organize under the act of March 18th 1886 in response to a diphtheria outbreak. Franklin B. Smith was the first Health Officer of Frederick County. 

Over the years, the services and programs offered by FCHD have changed as the community's needs changed. 

These photos show the Frederick County Health Department's Mobile Dental Clinic, circa 1960.