Public Health for all

West Coast Health Alliance

The West Coast Health Alliance (WCHA) is a partnership between California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington to ensure that public health recommendations are guided by safety, efficacy, transparency, access and trust.

WCHA Charter

WCHA has established a charter that lays out the shared principles and scope that guides its work. California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii formed the West Coast Health Alliance to uphold integrity of effective public health strategies to protect the health of our communities. Through this partnership, WCHA will collaborate on the review of the best available science and evidence to make unified recommendations that support safety, efficacy, transparency, access and trust.

WCHA Goals and Objectives

The goals and objectives of the WCHA include the following:

Work together to ensure the public has access to credible information
Coordinate to reduce confusion and increase trust in public health
Provide evidence-based position statements, policy recommendations and guidance
Seek alignment with respected national professional organizations
Share tools and best practices

WCHA Shared Principles

To protect the health of our communities, the West Coast Health Alliance will work to ensure that our public health strategies are based on the best available science. We will independently pursue strategies shaped by our unique laws, geographies, histories, and peoples, using these shared principles as the foundations of our Alliance:

Health as a Right: We affirm that all members of our communities should have access to quality health care and information.
Science and Integrity: We are committed to leading with science and to grounding our policies and recommendations in rigorous research, clinical expertise, and decades of proven public health practice. We commit to reevaluating our recommendations as new data becomes available.
Transparency and Trust: Our communities deserve clear, transparent communication about health, rooted in science. We will safeguard public trust through honesty, clarity and accountability.
Public Health Responsibility: We recognize the responsibility entrusted to us to protect and promote the health of the public. We will serve in a manner worthy of that trust, prioritizing prevention and evidence-based care to save lives.
Equity at Our Core: We are committed to giving everyone in our communities the opportunity to attain their highest level of health, and to eliminating barriers to evidence-based care especially for disproportionately impacted or marginalized communities.
Tribal Sovereignty: We affirm and respect Tribal sovereignty, recognizing Tribes’ authority over their health services. We also acknowledge health disparities impacting Indigenous peoples.
Coverage and Access: We advocate for full coverage by payors of preventive services.

WCHA’s Planned Scope of Work

The scope of the WCHA will focus on the following:

Evaluating and responding to threats to national public health policy and recommendations
Reviewing data, information and reports from credible clinical and scientific professional organizations that use evidence-based methodologies and source materials to assess changes in public health policy
Develop unified public health position statements, policy recommendations and guidance
Addressing communications needs and countering mis- and dis-information