Alexandria, Virginia - February 2, 2009 - Today the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), the organization developing a national voluntary public health accreditation program, released the first draft standards for state, local and territorial health department accreditation. The release of the initial iteration of the standards is an important milestone for the field of public health and is a noteworthy step toward the goal of having the accreditation program in place by early 2011.
 
The draft standards and measures will be available for public review and comment from today until April 30, 2009, at which point the standards will be revised based on feedback from public health stakeholders, including local health officials, state health department leaders and boards of health.  Representatives from all across the field of public health were involved in the development of the draft standards. 
 
"Today marks a significant day for PHAB. The release of draft accreditation standards and measures, the crux of the program, is the result of a tremendous effort by our Workgroups and Board of Directors," said Kaye Bender, PHAB President and CEO.  "I urge practitioners and stakeholders to take advantage of this opportunity and help shape the voluntary, national accreditation program by providing feedback.  The experiences and wisdom of the public health community can help PHAB truly improve public health."
 
Standards are largely the same-though measures differ-for state, local and territorial health departments, but all touch on a wide range of public health services. PHAB is working closely with tribal partners to develop standards for tribal health departments that are consistent with the draft state and local standards.  Although the standards are still in draft form, it is likely that health departments will be encouraged to show competency in areas ranging from administrative capacity to the ability to engage community partners, from solving health problems to enforcing public health laws. The draft standards are available in their entirety on the PHAB Web site at www.phaboard.org.
 
Because revisions to the standards depend on feedback from the public health community, PHAB has established several means by which people can share their comments.  After reviewing the standards on the PHAB Web site at www.phaboard.org, the public health community can complete and submit online or hard copy vetting forms, participate in PHAB standards vetting Webcasts and participate in weekly PHAB-led standards vetting calls. In addition, PHAB representatives and staff are available and prepared to lead discussions about the draft standards with groups of potential applicants (such as a group of local health departments or a state health department).
 
Following revisions to the draft standards, an 18-month beta test of the full accreditation process will take place beginning in the summer of 2009, and will result in further refinement of the standards and the process. PHAB will accept its first applications for voluntary accreditation beginning early 2011.
 
PHAB was established in 2007 to develop and oversee a national program for the voluntary accreditation of state, local, territorial and tribal health departments. The goal of the voluntary national accreditation program is to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of state and local public health departments. PHAB is led by a Board of Directors that includes state, tribal and local public health leaders and is jointly funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
 
For more information, visit PHAB's Web site, www.phaboard.org or contact Kaye Bender at kbender@phaboard.org.