PHAB E-Newsletter header

   ISSUE #18: 

October 2009

IN THIS ISSUE
Donna Davis Joins PHAB Team
Beta Test Evaluator Selected
PHAB Active at APHA
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Proposed State/Territorial and Local  Standards

 











 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PHAB
1600 Duke Street
Suite 440
Alexandria, VA 22314
 

703.778.4549

Greetings,
Bender pic
PHAB has begun a pivotal chapter in the development of the national voluntary public health accreditation program with the kickoff of a beta test. It is at this stage that we all can see the form of the accreditation program as it materializes and becomes real. As reported in the last issue of this newsletter, PHAB has selected and announced the 30 public health departments that will participate in the beta test over the next year. A two-day training session for the beta test sites has been scheduled for early November.
 
We will keep you posted on the beta test as it progresses, and look forward to working with all of you to ensure that the public health accreditation program is effective and works for everyone in the public health field. We can't achieve this goal without you, so please do stay in touch with us via our Web site - your input is incredibly valuable.
 
The importance of our work is increasingly clear, as we read about health care reform and the public health community's efforts to control the spread of the H1N1 flu epidemic. As health departments around the country work to combat new public health threats and keep Americans healthy, we are all continually reminded of the importance of quality public health services. We thank you for your continued partnership in working toward this goal.
 
Kaye Bender, PhD, RN, FAAN
PHAB President & CEO

PHAB Welcomes Donna E. Davis, EdD, MPH

 PHAB is very pleased to welcome Donna E. Davis, EdD, MPH, as the new Director of Public and Constituent Relations at the Public Health Accreditation Board, effective November 1, 2009.  Dr. Davis's career has included work in health policy, administration, and education.   Her experience includes providing community education in a local health department, developing patient education and chronic disease prevention programs for a non-profit clinic, teaching health promotion in secondary schools, and teaching graduate courses in health policy and administration.  Dr. Davis has managed a non-profit insurance program for children and a school based telehealth project for rural communities.  She was the first director and executive producer of the UNC/CDC sponsored Public Health Grand Rounds, producing 27 programs in the series.  Recently, she has served as an assistant professor of Health Administration at Pfeiffer University and as Vice President of Programs at the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education in Raleigh, NC.  
 
Dr. Davis has a BS in School and Community Health Education from East Carolina University, an MPH in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an EdD in Adult and Continuing Professional Education from North Carolina State University.  

 EvaluatorChosen for Beta Test

PHAB is pleased to announce that PHAB has contracted with the social research firm National Opinion Research Center (NORC) to be the evaluator for the beta test. PHAB and NORC had an excellent working relationship during the standards vetting process, so the firm is familiar with the intricacies of the public health field and the work that PHAB has done to date. Throughout the beta test, NORC will work closely with the beta test sites to gather information and fully analyze the data to inform the final accreditation program.

PHAB Featured at APHA Conference Sessions

PHAB will be very active at the upcoming APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Philadelphia from November 7-11. The APHA Annual Meeting will be a good chance to reconnect with many of you in person. Please stop by and see us if you are in Philadelphia for the conference.
You can find us at booth #1308, where we'll have up-to-date information on public health accreditation and the beta test. We're also pleased that PHAB will be represented at one roundtable and four scientific sessions during the conference (session information is below). Please check the final APHA program book for the specific locations of each session. We hope to see you there!
 
Monday, November 9, 8:30 AM:
Session:  Public Health Nursing Roundtables (3060.0 - Table 10)
Topic: Public Health Accreditation and Public Health Nursing: The Intersect 
Description:    This session describes PHAB's current activities in preparing for a national voluntary public heath accreditation program, and the key role that public health nurses play in the implementation of such a program.
 
Monday, November 9, 12:30 PM:
Session:  Organizational Strategic Planning, Community Health Improvement Planning and Preparing for Accreditation - Model Processes that Make It All Mesh (3226.0)
Topic:  Preparing for Public Health Accreditation
Description: This presentation will discuss where PHAB is in the development of accreditation standards for state, local, and tribal health departments. Time will also be permitted to allow the audience to ask questions and share their thoughts on public health accreditation.
 
Tuesday, November 10, 10:30 AM:
Session: How to Navigate the Continuing Education Seas (4081.2)
Topic:  Relationship between Agency Accreditation and Workforce Development
Description: This session will focus on resources for obtaining CE and will include four overarching CE themes: faculty development approaches, accessing essential resources, competency development and providing guidance and mentoring at the systems level. Presenters will cover these themes from three approaches, disciplinary specific APHA CE (e.g., nursing) and non-APHA CE (e.g., dentistry, optometry, social work), public health agency accreditation (e.g., PHAB) and public health and health professional school and program-sponsored CE.
 
Tuesday, November 10, 12:30 PM:
Session: Issues Affecting the Future of the Public Health Practitioner (4170.0)
Topic: Knowledge and Technical Proficiency in Promoting Public Health Professionals.
Description: This session presents activities of the Education Board in several areas: accreditation of health departments and its potential impact on the public health workforce, use of the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system in categorizing public health workers, and surveying the educational needs of the APHA membership.
 
Tuesday, November 10, 12:30 PM:
Session: PHAB Accreditation Program: Update (4173.0)
Topic: Current Public Health Accreditation Board Activities
Description: This session will describe the developments of the national voluntary public health accreditation program over the past year and will highlight the planned events for 2010. The presentation will include a description of the current standards and assessment process for accreditation, a discussion of the beta test with 30 health department sites participating and an overview of the additional information which will advise the accreditation development process.