Western Upper Peninsula District Health Department

What Western Upper Peninsula District Health Department does

Western Upper Peninsula District Health Department (WUPHD) is a governmental local public health agency serving Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon counties in Michigan's Western Upper Peninsula. Founded in 1936, the department operates four physical offices (Hancock headquarters, Bessemer, L'Anse, Ontonagon) and provides services across three functional pillars: Environmental Health (food protection, on-site sewage, water supply, beach monitoring, radon testing), Public Health (immunizations, communicable disease surveillance, WIC, family planning, STD/HIV testing, maternal and child health), and Emergency Preparedness. WUPHD also operates the Western UP Regional Public Health Laboratory, established September 2021, which provides high-complexity clinical testing capacity across the Upper Peninsula.

The department's service portfolio comprises more than a dozen distinct programs including COVID-19 drive-up testing, ServSafe Food Manager Certification (delivered in partnership with the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association), bathing beach monitoring (22 consecutive years in collaboration with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community), radon test kit distribution, and PFAS/water-quality investigations alongside the EPA. Customer segments include general public residents of the five-county area, regulated businesses such as food establishments and septic system installers, healthcare providers, and partner agencies including long-term care facilities and tribal communities.

WUPHD's revenue model is government-appropriations-based with modest fee-for-service supplementation. The primary funding streams are federal and state grants (USDA for WIC, EPA and MDHHS for laboratory and environmental programs, EGLE for beach monitoring) plus county appropriations. Service fees are collected on a pay-as-you-go basis for environmental health permits and inspections, immunizations, family planning/STD services, FOIA requests, ServSafe certifications, and a $150 revisit fee for environmental health site visits. Free services include radon test kits for county residents. The department is governed by a Board of Health and operates under the authority of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Name

Western Upper Peninsula District Health Department

Legal name

Western Upper Peninsula Health Department

Website

https://wupdhd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1936

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WUPHD is a governmental public health department serving five counties in Michigan's Western Upper Peninsula, delivering environmental health, disease prevention, immunization, and emergency preparedness services to roughly 58,000 residents through four office locations and a regional public health laboratory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Services

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241), Ambulatory Health Care Services (621)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Social Services (8300), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

County/District/Local Health Departments (HLAJAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local Public Health & Human Services Administration (BPAIACAK), Environmental & Occupational Health Surveillance Programs (HLAJANAI)

Keywords

• Public health services
• Environmental health inspections
• Communicable disease surveillance
• Immunization programs
• Emergency preparedness

Headquarters

HQ city

Hancock

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Public health department funded through government appropriations, grants, and service fees

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Western Upper Peninsula District Health Department (WUPHD) is a multi-county governmental public health agency serving Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon counties in Michigan. It delivers environmental health inspections and permitting (food service, on-site sewage, water supply, beach monitoring, radon testing), public health clinical and preventive services (immunizations, family planning, STD/HIV testing, WIC, communicable disease surveillance, COVID-19 testing), and emergency preparedness and response, funded through government appropriations, grants, and published service fees.

Product overview

The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department operates as a county-level public health agency offering a unified set of community health services organized into three core functional areas: Environmental Health (food protection, sewage systems, water supply, beach monitoring, radon testing), Public Health (immunizations, disease surveillance, maternal/child health, WIC, reproductive health), and Emergency Preparedness. The department also provides specific programs including COVID-19 testing, food safety training (ServSafe), and beach water quality monitoring in partnership with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. Services are delivered through offices in Hancock (main), Bessemer, L'Anse, and Ontonagon.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Environmental Health Services Government-authorized environmental health program providing inspection, permitting, consultation, planning, and educational outreach across food protection, on-site sewage, water supply, beach monitoring, radon testing, swimming pool/spa, tattoo/body art, childcare, and campground categories.
• Public Health Services
• Emergency Preparedness
• Bathing Beach Monitoring Program
• Radon Test Kit Program
• COVID-19 Testing Services Drive-up COVID-19 NAAT testing at the Hancock office by appointment, weekdays 8:30am-2:00pm, with results typically delivered within 24 hours, supported by the Regional Public Health Laboratory established September 2021.
• Immunization Services
• Food Safety Training (ServSafe)
• WIC Program
• Sewage & Septic System Services
• Water Supply Program
• Family Planning Program
• STD and HIV Testing

Quantifiable outcome

• 22 consecutive years of bathing beach monitoring program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003Long-standing collaborative partnership for bathing beach monitoring program. KBIC Water Resources Specialists work with WUPHD to monitor public beaches in L'Anse and Baraga areas. Partnership has continued for over 20 years, providing beach water quality testing and public health protection for residents and visitors.
• Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEGLE provides grant funding for the bathing beach monitoring program and collaborates on environmental health matters including PFAS investigation, septic systems, and water quality issues.
• Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState health department partner for communicable disease control, COVID-19 response, vaccination distribution, WIC program administration, and public health policy guidance.
• Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association (MRLA)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMRLA offers ServSafe Food Manager Certification classes and exams at WUPHD locations, supporting food safety education and compliance for restaurant managers.
• Dickinson-Iron Health Department, Marquette County Health Department, Public Health of Delta & MenomineeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership among Upper Peninsula health departments for shared services including Medical Director position search and regional public health initiatives.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal partner collaborating on environmental health emergencies including PFAS investigation near Gogebic-Iron County Airport, asbestos remediation oversight, and fuel spill response.
• 32 Regional Healthcare Partners (UP Healthcare Coalition)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of local health departments, hospitals, clinics, behavioral health agencies and health foundations sponsoring the Upper Peninsula Community Health Needs Assessment with nearly 24,000 household surveys.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Kent County Health Department: Larger Michigan county health department serving the Grand Rapids metro area. Offers the same core environmental health and clinical service mix but at materially greater scale, providing a relevant operating benchmark even though its urban context differs from WUPHD's rural UP jurisdiction.

Direct peers

• Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Health System: Tribal health authority with which WUPHD has maintained a 20+ year collaborative beach monitoring partnership. Operates overlapping public health functions for tribal members in the same geographic footprint and represents a direct service delivery peer for Native American populations.
• Chippewa County Health Department: Michigan county health department serving Chippewa County in the eastern UP, including Sault Ste. Marie. Comparable in scope — environmental health inspections, clinical services, and emergency preparedness — and engaged in similar UP regional public health coordination.
• LMAS District Health Department: Multi-county district health department serving Luce, Mackinac, Alger, and Schoolcraft counties in Michigan's eastern UP. Operates an identical portfolio of environmental health, immunizations, WIC, and emergency preparedness services for a comparably sized rural population.
• Public Health of Delta & Menominee: District health department serving Delta and Menominee counties in Michigan's UP, collaborating with WUPHD through the UP Healthcare Coalition. Closely comparable in scale, service mix, and rural UP operating context.
• Dickinson-Iron District Health Department: Multi-county district health department covering Dickinson and Iron counties in Michigan's UP, currently partnering with WUPHD on the joint Medical Director search. Operates the same mix of environmental health inspections, public health programs, and emergency preparedness services.
• Marquette County Health Department: Michigan county health department adjacent to WUPHD's jurisdiction and named partner in joint Medical Director search and regional UP initiatives. Provides the same portfolio of environmental health, immunizations, and emergency preparedness services to a similar rural population.

Broad incumbents

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Federal public health agency that funds and provides technical guidance to local health departments including WUPHD. Overlaps with WUPHD's disease surveillance, immunization, and emergency preparedness functions at the national scale.
• Michigan Department of Health and Human Services: State-level public health authority that funds, sets policy for, and coordinates with WUPHD across communicable disease control, COVID-19 response, vaccination distribution, and WIC program administration. Operates the same broad mandate at the state level.

Others

• National Association of County and City Health Officials: National membership and advocacy association representing local health departments including WUPHD. Provides shared services, training, and policy support relevant to a multi-county local health department.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/WesternUPHealth
• Facebookfacebook.com/WesternUPHealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/western-upper-peninsula-district-health-department

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Western Upper Peninsula District Health Department