Our History

1937 - The Orange County Health Department was established at its first location in the basement of the old Orange County Courthouse building on the northwest corner of Central Blvd. & Magnolia Street.  The City of Orlando had an already existing City Health Department.

1938 – A health department clinic in Apopka was opened.

1953 – While the Courthouse was closed for lunch, a granite parapet fell from the roof and through to the basement. The health department was moved to the gymnasium of Memorial Junior High School on the northwest corner of Washington and Rosalind Ave.

1955 – The Health Department was relocated to an abandoned elementary school at its present site. 

1960’s - In the late 1950’s or early 60’s the Winter Garden/Ocoee and new Apopka clinics were opened.  In the late 1960’s another clinical site was added in Winter Park. In the same decades, the City of Orlando closed their health department and moved their employees into the Orange County Health Department.  With the move was the first Black sanitarian in Florida.

1973 – The Orange County Health Department moved to its temporary location at Webster Elementary School in Winter Park due to a fire on the fourth floor.  The fire was followed by a small tornado which left the building uninhabitable. During this same period, the first methadone treatment center was placed in the health department and the Florida Board of Health was merged with Welfare to form the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS). 

1974 – The Health Department’s main site was re-opened at its present site at 832 W. Central Blvd.

Over the next 20 years, additional clinic sites were opened as follows:  1978 – Eastside Clinic opens, 1979 – Lila Mitchell is added to the site list, and then in 1994 – Hal Marston was opened. 

In 1997, the Departments of Health and Children and Families were established from the old Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services.

In late 1999 and early 2000, the health department restructured the provision of services to focus more on core public health functions and reduce the duplication of services provided in the community, closing the Winter Park, Hal Marston, Winter Garden/Ocoee and Apopka clinics.

2000 to Present – The Winter Garden Health Alliance, Hoffner, Lake Underhill, Southside, and Mercy Drive sites were opened.

The health department has had to change the services provided to clients and the community over the years and currently has 11 sites. Below is a list of all locations and the services provided:

• Apopka – WIC and Vital Statistics
• Central – Dental, Eligibility, School Health, Immunizations, HIV/AIDS, STD, TB, WIC, Vital Statistics, and Mom Care
• Eastside – Eligibility, Immunizations, Maternity and Family Planning, and WIC
• Hoffner – Dental, Maternity and Family Planning, and WIC
• Lake Underhill - Eligibility, WIC and Maternity and Family Planning
• Lake Ellenor – Administration, HIV Surveillance, Emergency Operations, Epidemiology (Disease Control), and the Office of Minority Health/Health Education
• Lila Mitchell – Eligibility, Maternity and Family Planning
• Westside – Environmental Health and WIC
• Ocoee – Healthy Start
• Southside – Eligibility, Maternity and Family Planning, Immunizations, and WIC
• Winter Garden Health Alliance – Immunizations and WIC
• Winnie Palmer Hospital Campus – Vital Statistics, WIC, and Healthy Start
• Winter Park Hospital – Vital Statistics and Healthy Start