Public Health Accreditation Board

September 2008[Insert your name

here]

National Accreditation Update

The Importance of Public Health

“..government public health agencies at federal, state, and local levels are the backbone of this public health system and must be strong.”

“The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century”, Institute of Medicine, 2002

A Rising Tide…

CDC’s Future Initiatives

“Future of the Public’s Health” in the 21st Century (IOM)

NACCHO’s Operational Definition

Statewide Accreditation Programs

Multi-State Learning Collaborative

Exploring Accreditation

NACCHO, ASTHO & NALBOH moved to:

Endorse the recommendations of the Exploring Accreditation Steering Committee for a voluntary national accreditation program.

Lead, in cooperation with appropriate partners, in the development and implementation  of such a national voluntary accreditation program that will drive continuous quality improvement.

Public Health Accreditation Board

Established May 2007 Non-profit 501(c)(3) Located in Alexandria, VA

LHD involvement: Board of Directors representation Workgroups oversee

development Volunteer opportunities

Goal of a National Program

“…to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing the

quality and performance of state and local public health departments.”

-Exploring Accreditation Final Recommendations, page 4

Eligible Applicants

Any governmental entity with primary legal responsibility for public health in a state, territory, tribe, or at the local level:

State Health Departments Local Health Departments Tribal Health Departments Territorial Health Departments

Developmental Work

Standards Workgroup

Assessment Process Workgroup

Beta test

Equivalency Recognition Workgroup

Research and Evaluation Committee

Fees & Incentives Workgroup

Marketing and Communication

PHAB Timeline

2007 2008 2009 2010 20111 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Internal Operations

Standards and Measures

Assessment Process

18 Month Beta Test

Applications

Standards and Measures

Advance the collective practice—it is not a test, it is about quality improvement

Build on Essential PH Services, Operational Definition, NPHPSP, and state experiences

Keep them simple and reduce redundancy

Be sensitive to burden of preparation and review

Applicable to local and state health departments, and aligning their roles

Applicable to large and small agencies

Standards Development Process

Draft standards and measures developed by workgroups

Alpha test/desk review

Public Vetting in Winter 2009

Revised based on feedback

PHAB Board approval

Assessment Process

Health department Readiness review Self-assessment

PHAB Site visit

PHAB Board Determines

accreditation status

Appeals process

Substantial Equivalency Recognition

Develop guidelines and principles for the evaluation of state-based accreditation programs so that equivalency to the national accreditation program can be determined

Acknowledge states with existing programs

Not a grandfathering process

Recognizes programs that conform to the national program

Not “PHAB accreditation,” but eligible for same benefits

Research and Evaluation

The purpose of the Research and Evaluation Committee is to provide advice on matters related to evaluation of the national accreditation program for state and local health departments and research that would improve the effectiveness of public health standard-setting and accreditation.

Financing

Affordability of fees critical to success

Accreditation process should be designed with cost controls in mind

Incentives Uniformly positive

Recognize high performance and quality improvement

Third party recognition

Demonstrate accountability to the public and governing bodies

Gain improved access to resources

Be part of a learning community dedicated to excellent health outcomes

Benefits of Accreditation

Improves understanding of public health

Promotes sharing best practices

Provides a team-building opportunity for LHD staff

Improves LHD staff understanding of co-worker function and roles

Highlights LHD strengths

Identifies areas for health department improvement

Stay Tuned for Regular Updates!

For more information, visit:

Public Health Accreditation Board Web site: www.phaboard.org

NACCHO’s Accreditation Preparation and Quality Improvement Web site:www.naccho.org/accreditation