Health Equity Portfolio

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Who We Are

To champion equitable health outcomes for the 10 million North Carolinians we serve, and support internal workforce Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, NCDHHS established a new Health Equity Portfolio in 2021 and hired its first Chief Health Equity Officer to lead the Portfolio. The Portfolio is composed of three offices: the Office of Rural Health, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the Office of Health Equity. The new Office of Health Equity includes the former NCDHHS Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities combined with Latinx and Hispanic Policy and Strategy. The work of the Portfolio is grounded in NCDHHS’s commitment to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce and advancing health equity within DHHS and across North Carolina.

Health Equity Portfolio Mission: Embedding equity through trust, collaboration, innovation, leadership, and quality service delivery.

Health Equity Portfolio Vision: Foster fair and just opportunities for all people of North Carolina to achieve their healthiest outcomes.  

Health Equity Portfolio Strategic Priorities: The Health Equity Portfolio has worked to identify four strategic areas of focus in 2023 – Strategy, Operational Excellence and Daily Operations, Community and Partner Engagement, and HE and DEI Consultation and Technical Assistance.

Health Equity Portfolio Leadership Team

The Health Equity Portfolio is pleased to share our Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Year in Review Report. This report highlights the Portfolio's key accomplishments in FY 22-23, discusses lessons learned, and provides insights into what's coming next in FY 23-24 to build sustainable equity efforts and for the Portfolio to continue growing its outreach, infrastructure, operations, and partnerships to achieve workforce belonging and health equity outcomes in NC. You can also view the Report's One Pager and Summary Slide Deck.

Contact Us

Mailing Address

Debra Farrington, MSW, LCSW
Chief Health Equity Office and Deputy Secretary  
101 Blair Drive 
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603

Physical Address

101 Blair Drive 
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603