In October 2017, the State Advisory Council on Health and Wellness was created (Chapter 40, Acts of 2017). The Council assumed the responsibilities of the State Advisory Council on Arthritis and Related Diseases, the State Advisory Council on Heart Disease and Stroke, and the State Advisory Council on Physical Fitness. To carry out that work, the Council established four committees concerned with arthritis, diabetes, heart disease and stroke, and physical fitness.
The Maryland Health and Wellness Council serves as the Advisory Committee to Maryland's Preventive Health and Health Services (PHHS) Block Grant. The PHHS Advisory Committee convenes at least twice per year, at Council meetings, to review and approve the annual PHHS work plan, budget and progress.
Further, the Health and Wellness Council promotes evidence-based programs for developing healthy lifestyles, and for the prevention, early detection, and treatment of chronic diseases. To the Maryland Department of Health, the Council makes recommendations on chronic disease prevention, health, and wellness.
Of the Council's thirty-three members, 27 are appointed by the Secretary of Health to four-year terms; 4 serve ex officio, and the Maryland Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities and the Maryland Association of County Health Officers each have a representative (Code Health-General, sec. 13-203).
