{"id":770382,"date":"2026-01-11T19:59:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T03:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcnews&p=770382"},"modified":"2026-01-09T15:51:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T23:51:53","slug":"rebuilding-a-public-health-data-system-on-a-spatial-foundation","status":"publish","type":"arcnews","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/rebuilding-a-public-health-data-system-on-a-spatial-foundation","title":{"rendered":"Rebuilding a Public Health Data System on a Spatial Foundation"},"author":5752,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1041,472991,430101],"tags":[170542,170662,478052,165542,35392],"arcnews_issues":[493311],"class_list":["post-770382","arcnews","type-arcnews","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-collaboration","category-gis","category-public-health","tag-arcgis-enterprise","tag-arcgis-hub","tag-arcgis-knowledge","tag-data-sharing","tag-enterprise-gis","arcnews_issues-winter-2026","arcnews_sections-your-work"],"acf":{"short_description":"With enterprise GIS and the power of location intelligence, the Adams County Health Department responds rapidly to community-specific needs.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"When the newly formed Adams County Health Department (ACHD) in Colorado set out to modernize its operations in 2023, it sought to create a unified, data-informed foundation for public health. Emerging from the dissolution of the Tri-County Health Department, ACHD began with a rare opportunity: to design its systems from the ground up.\r\n\r\nACHD prioritized GIS technology and made it the backbone of its operations. The department built the Integrated Data System (IDS) that now connects every division, dataset, and workflow. The enterprise-wide platform enables Adams County to manage data, streamline public health processes, and respond rapidly to community-specific needs\u2014all through the power of location intelligence."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":770383,"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

From Fragmented Data to Integrated Systems<\/h2>\r\nBefore the IDS, Adams County staff relied on spreadsheets, manual data entry, and isolated databases. Data for programs such as communicable disease investigations and tracking, environmental inspections, and client referrals lived in different systems. This made it difficult to understand cross-program trends or identify at-risk populations in real time.\r\n\r\nACHD leadership recognized that traditional data systems would not meet modern expectations for transparency, interoperability, or spatial context. The department needed a comprehensive, well-governed, and secure approach that would unite health, environmental, and community data in one enterprise framework. Not only would this connect datasets, but it would also improve cross-program communication by enabling staff from different divisions to work from a unified view of public health information.\r\n\r\nNow, the IDS is the foundation for ACHD\u2019s internal data. It links datasets, workflows, and documentation across all divisions through a centrally governed geospatial framework. Built on ArcGIS Enterprise, SQL Server, and FME from Esri partner Safe Software, the IDS standardizes data collection and enables continual data exchange. Additionally, ACHD uses ArcGIS Knowledge for data cataloging, which ensures that staff can access current, authoritative information across programs."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":770384,"image_position":"left","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\u201cThe IDS ties together every dataset, workflow, and program,\u201d said Adam Anderson, director of epidemiology and data science at ACHD. \u201cGIS is the thread that turns data into insight across the entire department.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The Building Blocks of Modernization<\/h2>\r\nFrom the outset, ACHD established a robust data governance framework\u2014an essential aspect of long-term system sustainability and trust. Staff use ArcGIS Knowledge to catalog every dataset with its ownership, user access, update cycles, and defined connections to apps and projects. This ensures transparency and security, reduces duplication, and allows leadership to see how data is used across programs. It also ensures that as system access expands across diverse programs and roles, the data remains consistent, secure, and appropriately managed. Governance documentation\u2014including data dictionaries and workflows\u2014formalizes each project\u2019s life cycle, creating a repeatable model for future systems.\r\n\r\nTo replace fragmented manual workflows, ACHD adopted ArcGIS Survey123 to standardize data collection across the department. Survey data automatically feeds into SQL databases and ArcGIS through FME-based automation pipelines, enabling near real-time updates. This unified approach simplifies how programs collect, share, and visualize data and supports initiatives ranging from food inspection and lead exposure monitoring to client referral tracking."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":770385,"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The IDS is also linked to multiple data systems, including HealthSpace, the state\u2019s system for public health permitting and inspections; the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; demographic data; and county parcel data. This means that the ACHD created a single ecosystem for public health. Staff can now analyze the complex relationships between factors such as pollution exposure, housing density, and health outcomes, providing insight that was previously difficult to garner."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Everything on the Same Spatial Foundation<\/h2>\r\nAdams County faces major environmental challenges from the impacts of air pollution, Superfund sites, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) sites, and ongoing oil and gas operations. GIS tools help identify, monitor, and communicate information about these risks.\r\n\r\nThe Parcel-Based Search Tool allows staff to search for environmental records\u2014such as on-site wastewater treatment system (OWTS) permits, RCRA sites, landfills, and spills\u2014by parcel, integrating county, state, and federal datasets. The OWTS Search Tool, which pulls data from HealthSpace and links it to parcel boundaries, enables the public to find septic permit records. The Boil Water Advisory Response Tool uses GIS to identify every facility within a water district during advisories, improving communication and response times. And the Environmental Health Call Log tracks community complaints spatially for trend monitoring and program accountability."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":770386,"image_position":"left","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"To provide better surveillance of communicable diseases, ACHD replaced spreadsheet-based tracking with its automated Communicable Disease Surveillance program, which integrates with the state\u2019s reporting system, EpiTrax. Case data now flows automatically into dashboards, built with ArcGIS Dashboards, for visualization and analysis, allowing real-time monitoring of outbreaks.\r\n\r\nGIS-based outbreak mapping also improves internal coordination among teams. For example, environmental health and communicable disease staff can view and act on the same exposure data simultaneously, enhancing situational awareness and collaborative response. A measles outbreak simulation demonstrated how automated dataflows help staff immediately map exposure sites and engage in rapid containment.\r\n\r\nOther core systems built on the IDS include:\r\n