 ARCHIVED NACCHO WEBCAST: Accreditation 4-1-1
A new webcast in the QI and Accreditation Preparation Webcast Series is now available online for free viewing. The webcast, Accreditation: The 4-1-1 on What LHDs Need to Know, had almost 200 participants, making it one of the most-attended webcasts in the series to date! Webcast speakers shared PHAB's revised voluntary national accreditation standards for LHDs, highlighted substantive revisions made to the standards based on public feedback, and encouraged LHD participation in the PHAB Beta Test. Visit NACCHO's Accreditation & QI Web site to view previous webcasts and see when future webcasts will occur. |
200 8 NATIONAL PROFILE OF LHDs: Accreditation & QI Results
Did you know that 54% of LHDs reported an interest in seeking national accreditation? NACCHO proudly presents its 2008 National Profile of Local Health Departments, which includes data on accreditation and QI activities. LHDs and researchers can use this report to prepare proposals and policy recommendations, write independent reports, draw comparisons between LHDs, and illustrate diverse approaches to local public health. For more on quality improvement, accreditation, and other public health infrastructure issues, visit NACCHO's Profile Study Web site to download or order a copy of the report. |
GOT A STRATEGIC PLAN? Share Yours with NACCHO!
To be considered eligible for the voluntary national accreditation program starting in 2011, LHDs will be required to submit a current agency strategic plan as part of the application process. We need your help! In an effort to share examples of strategic plans with LHDs prior to the launch of the program, NACCHO is collecting plans to assist in LHD accreditation preparation efforts. If your agency submits a strategic plan that is chosen to be posted on the NACCHO Web site, the submitter will be entered into a raffle to win a copy of the Public Health Quality Improvement Handbook published by the Public Health Foundation and the American Society for Quality. (Any identifying items will be removed at the request of the agency.) If you would like to share your agency's strategic plan, please e-mail it to Travis Parker Lee at tlee@naccho.org. |
PHAB BETA TEST: A Message from Kaye Bender, President and CEO of PHAB
 "PHAB has enthusiastically looked forward to the launch of the Beta Test. The hard work of the Standards Development and Assessment Process Workgroups has moved us to this next most important step in the development of the public health voluntary national accreditation program. The Beta Test Letter of Invitation was distributed in early July, and the deadline for submitting applications was August 14, 2009. We received a total of 145 state and local applications, and several Tribal applications. Health departments who submitted their applications will be notified on September 18, 2009, of their status. All applicants have shown great leadership in applying. There is a lot of work to do to test these standards and the accreditation process. We sincerely appreciate those of you who stepped up to the plate to make the accreditation program the best that it can be. Without you, it won't work!"
"We also know that some of you are concerned that you will be selected to be a Beta Test site and then will be confronted with a heavy H1N1 flu season. PHAB understands that public health departments at any time might have outbreaks that could interfere with the detailed work required for the Beta Test, and we will work with those sites should that interruption occur. Until then, though, let's launch the Beta Test together!"
Visit the PHAB Web site for more information on the Beta Test and the national program. |
NIHB: Exploring Tribal Public Health Accreditation
The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is a non-profit organization that represents and advocates on behalf of 562 federally recognized tribes throughout the country. Since 1972, NIHB has advised the U.S. Congress, the Indian Health Service, federal agencies, private foundations, and other entities on health care issues impacting American Indians and Alaska Natives.
With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NIHB conducted a project to assess the feasibility of the promotion of voluntary public health accreditation and public health standards in Indian Country. Through outreach and education at national conferences focused on Indian health, and in partnership with NACCHO, ASTHO, and PHAB, the NIHB has found that public health accreditation is feasible in Indian Country and that there is significant enthusiasm for public health accreditation by tribal leaders and public health professionals. Accreditation is consistent with the Native vision of healthy communities and improving health broadly. Tribal input and involvement in the development of the accreditation process continues to be invaluable to ensuring that PHAB's program accommodates the uniqueness and diversity across tribal settings.
NIHB will be presenting more information about the results of the Exploring Tribal Public Health Accreditation effort at its upcoming Annual Consumer Conference to be held September 14-18, 2009, in Washington, DC. Visit the NIHB Web site at www.nihb.org for more information on the conference and on Tribal accreditation efforts. |
MLC: Open Forum in Chicago, IL
 The MLC: Lead States in Public Health QI project will host its annual Open Forum Meeting in Chicago, IL, from September 16-18, 2009. Grantees, national partners, and invited representatives from across the nation will convene to share and learn about public health QI and national voluntary accreditation of public health departments. Meeting attendees will benefit from updates about the development of the national accreditation program for state and local health departments, presentations regarding the advancement of QI in public health, QI-related training, discussions on current events effecting public health including H1N1, and time to network and dialogue with peers. For registration and for more information, please visit www.nnphi.org/mlc.
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H1N1 AND QI: Pandemic Flu Planning for Fall 2009
The 2009 spring H1N1 flu outbreak demonstrated the importance of public health processes in effective response to a public health emergency. According to a new white paper, Review, Refresh, Revitalize: Your Pandemic Flu Plan For Fall 2009, by Ron Bialek, Kim McCoy, Jack Moran, William Riley, and Lillian Shirley, preparedness for an even greater H1N1 outbreak can be strengthened by the use of QI methods and tools to integrate lessons learned from the recent outbreak to "review and refresh" state and local pandemic flu plans. | |
