PHAB is Open for Business and NACCHO is Here to Help Interested LHDs 

The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) has begun accepting applications from health departments pursuing voluntary national accreditation. PHAB's website, www.phaboard.org has been updated to include access to everything an agency needs to apply, including an online orientation and a form for submitting a statement of intent (SOI) to indicate interest in applying. The website also links e-PHAB, which is the online accreditation information system. NACCHO congratulates PHAB and the entire public health community for this tremendous accomplishment.

NACCHO's Accreditation Preparation & QI Team wants to hear from those of you who have begun the application process. If you have already submitted your SOI, or plan to do so this fall, please let us know! Send an e-mail to accreditprep@naccho.org with the subject line "PHAB Applicant" and tell us how the process is going so far and how we can help.  

Quality Improvement Roadmap  

Quality improvement (QI) is increasingly being embraced as a means to achieve efficiencies and other improvements with limited resources. Beyond discrete QI efforts, a comprehensive approach to QI - one in which the concepts of QI are ingrained in the shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices of all individuals in the agency - will ensure that QI is institutionalized and becomes part of the way that LHDs do business.  

To assist LHDs to this end, NACCHO has developed a Roadmap to a Culture of Quality Improvement. This preliminary version of the "Roadmap" is a dynamic resource that will be refined and enhanced over time, as it will be continually updated with corresponding tools and other materials. Click here to access the Roadmap.  

In the state of Kansas, the Roadmap is already being applied in the field! Developed by Ty Kane from the Sedgwick County Health Department, access this QI Roadmap handout and PowerPoint slides*. Contact Pooja Verma at pverma@naccho.org or 202-507-4206 with questions.

*If the PPT file does not open, copy and paste this link into your browser: http://www.naccho.org/topics/infrastructure/accreditation/upload/QI-roadmap-PPT_Sedgwick.pptx

A very special thanks to the following participants of NACCHO's QI Leaders and QI Consultants Learning Communities for their contribution to the development of the Roadmap:  

• Sue Hedlund, Washington County Department of Public Health and Environment (MN)
• Beverly Huth, Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department (OH)
• Dawn Jacobson, Los Angeles County Health Services (CA)
• Ty Kane, Sedgwick County Health Department (KS)
• Louise A. Kent, Northern Kentucky Health Department (KY)
• Ed Parent, Escambia County Health Department (FL)
• Julie Sharp, Kane County Health Department (IL)
• Sara Wester, Siouxland District Health Department (IA)

QI Consultants 

• Les Beitsch, Florida State University
• Chris Bujak, Continual Impact, LLC
• Jim Butler, James Butler & Associates
• Grace Duffy, American Society for Quality
• Pam Gilliam, Arnold School of Public Health
• Racquel Graham, Ohio State University
• Julia Heany, Michigan Public Health Institute
• Jack Moran, Public Health Foundation
• David Stone, Public Health Accreditation Board
• Beverly Tremain, Public Health Consulting, LLC
• Ruth Wetta-Hall, Kansas University School of Medicine - Wichita

2010 National Profile of Local Health Departments: Study Report Released 

NACCHO is pleased to announce that the final report including the results of the 2010 Profile of Local Health Departments (Profile) study is now available. With an 82 percent response rate, the Profile study is the most comprehensive and accurate source of information about LHD infrastructure and practice in the United States.  

Chapter 8 of the Profile includes information about community health assessment, community health improvement planning, accreditation preparation, and quality improvement at LHDs across the country. Data is now available that shows what percentage of LHDs have completed the prerequisites for national accreditation, plan to apply for accreditation, conduct QI initiatives, and more. Visit the Profile website for the full report and more information. Contact ProfileTeam@naccho.org with comments or questions.   

Performance Improvement Technical Assistance Teleconference Series 

This month, NACCHO launched a teleconference series that focuses on performance improvement technical assistance. These calls are designed to respond to timely, common technical assistance (TA) requests related to accreditation, community health assessment and improvement planning processes, Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) and more! Topics may include how to begin a community health assessment, resources for accreditation preparation, and more.

Calls will take place monthly and will be developed based on input from the field. The next call is scheduled for Thursday, October 13th at 2:00PM ET. To submit questions, e-mail performance@naccho.org. For more information, a recording of this month's call, and registration for the upcoming call, visit http://www.naccho.org/PITeleconference.  

NNPHI Resources for Accreditation & QI    

The National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) is excited to share the following resources - developed by public health practitioners - and publications related to accreditation and quality improvement (QI):  

• Public Health Performance Improvement Toolkit: The PHPI Toolkit is an online collection of tools, including archived trainings, sample QI products, templates, and related resources for public health practitioners interested in implementing QI and preparing for accreditation. What makes the PHPI toolkit unique is that all of the products have been developed by public health practitioners through their own efforts to implement performance improvement activities and prepare for national voluntary accreditation.
• Accreditation & Performance Improvement Program Area. Resources include:
• Stories and Topical Briefs: Summarize key lessons learned by health departments engaged in QI and accreditation preparation efforts and provide recommendations for practitioners.
• QI Storyboards: Features all of the storyboards that have been submitted by the MLC projects, as well as resources on how to develop your own storyboards.
• Meeting and Webinar Materials: Materials from previous in-person conferences-where innovative practices in performance improvement and accreditation were shared-and recordings and notes from webinars covering a plethora of performance improvement topics.
• NNPHI Newsletter: Special Accreditation & QI Edition: Showcasing NNPHI's member institutes' contributions to the field.   

County Health Rankings Learning Institute: Scholarships Available

On October 30, 2011, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will be offering an internet-based Learning Institute on the County Health Rankings at the American Public Health Association conference. The purpose of this Learning Institute is to empower participants to improve the health of their communities through discussion with County Health Rankings authors and funders. Scholarships are available to cover the $200 fee for this Learning Institute.  
 
The Institute will offer the opportunity for participants to use, discuss, and seek advice on how to best apply Rankings data, tools, and resources to plan strategies to deploy in their home communities. Participants in this Institute will have the opportunity to dialogue with leaders from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and other session participants to increase their knowledge and capacity to lead community health improvement efforts. Please consider registering for and attending the County Health Rankings Learning Institute.  
 
Space and scholarships for this Institute are limited to 25 participants. To access a County Health Rankings Learning Institute scholarship, please complete this short application form with basic demographic information, what you hope to learn, and a short description of how you intend to apply the information in your community. You will be notified of your scholarship acceptance within 24 hours of submission. You will pay the $200 fee upfront and, after the Learning Institute, submit your invoice to the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute for us to reimburse you. By accepting this scholarship, you also agree to share your story (by report or responding to an interview) about efforts to improve health in your community.  
 
The deadline for registering for this opportunity is September 29, 2011. If you are interested in participating, more information on this session can be found here. Please contact Julie Willems Van Dijk at willemsvandi@wisc.edu if you have any questions about this opportunity.