accreditNATION
NACCHO's Accreditation Preparation & Quality Improvement Newsletter February 2008
Vol. 1
New RFA Announced!
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Greetings! 
 
Welcome to the first edition of accreditNATION, NACCHO's periodic Accreditation Preparation & Quality Improvement Newsletter! You are receiving this newsletter as you previously expressed interest in national accreditation.
 
Through this e-newsletter we will share:
  • Resources to prepare for accreditation and engage in quality improvement activities,
  • Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) updates, and
  • Opportunities to share and highlight your health department accreditation preparation efforts

If you received this as a forward and would like to sign up to receive future newsletters, click "Join Our Mailing List!" below.

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Attention signRFA for Accreditation Prep & QI Demo Sites

With support from the the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NACCHO will fund between 30 and 50 health departments (a combination of tribal and local health departments) to assess their capacity to meet the Operational Definition standards (which are the framework for national accreditation standards), and engage in quality improvement (QI) activities to address areas that need improvement. Grants available for individual LHDs, tribal health departments, and LHDs that work collaboratively to meet the standards. Applications are due Monday, March 3, 2008.

Escabia County pic
Local Spotlight: Escambia County Health Department, FL
 
Escambia County Health Department (ECHD) in Florida recently created a ranking tool they dubbed 'the matrix.' Not to be confused with the Hollywood hit, this matrix is a tool for 1) comparing all the services provided by ECHD, 2) analyzing how the services align with the health department's responsibility to protect the public's health, and 3) connecting the services to the NACCHO Operational Definition. Read the ECHD case example to access the matrix and view lessons learned. To find out more about ECHD efforts and other accreditation-related activities, visit the NACCHO interactive map.
Local Health Departments Influence PHAB

Several workgroups and committees are guiding the development of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). Local health officials are serving on these workgroups and the PHAB Board of Directors to ensure that the local health department voice influences all the aspects of the accreditation program. Read about the workgroups and the list of local health official representatives, as well as find out about upcoming opportunities to get involved at the PHAB Web site.

Annual logo 2008Chance to Win a NACCHO Annual Scholarship! 

Each accreditNATION issue will spotlight a LHD working on accreditation preparation-related tasks, and it could be you! Send your story and/or any tools your LHD is using to prepare for accreditation to pdavis@naccho.org and you may be featured in the next issue. Just for sharing your story or tool, you will be entered in a drawing to win a scholarship to NACCHO Annual 2008! 

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