Thanks for voting in last month's poll! Out of the 30 responses, more than half have already applied for PHAB accreditation or plan to do so this year - exciting news! Take this month's poll here!
_________________________________________________________________ Engaging Your Governing Entity: New Training Videos 
Is your agency thinking about pursuing PHAB accreditation? You probably know that the support of your governing entity (board of health, board of commissioners, etc) is crucial, but you may need resources to bring them up to speed on the importance of accreditation. NACCHO has developed a series of training videos with you in mind!
These training videos are aimed at governing entities so they are short, to-the-point, and fast-paced. The first module in the series, entitled "Public Health Accreditation: An Introduction for Governing Entities," is available now and three additional modules will be available later this spring.
Click here to download the video, review the accompanying materials, and find out more.
Accreditation Support Initiative Sites Announced
In fall 2011, the CDC Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support (OSTLTS) provided funding to the NACCHO for two support initiatives to promote accreditation readiness activities in health departments. These initiatives are intended to stimulate quality improvement and progress in seeking voluntary national accreditation through PHAB. Project activities include efforts to meet the identified PHAB prerequisites, achievement of PHAB standards and measures, and support payment of accreditation fees (up to 50%). A total of 18 agencies, including LHDs, state health organizations, Tribal health departments, SACCHOs and institutes received funding under these initiatives.
For information about the awardees, including their accreditation preparation plans, click here.
Kansas Local Health Official Discusses Accreditation on Public Radio  Claudia Blackburn, director of the Sedgwick County Health Department in Wichita, Kansas, was recently featured on her local NPR station describing the functions of her agency and the importance of public health accreditation. Testimonials from Blackburn and other health directors can be useful as your health department seeks the support of its director or its governing board. Blackburn has been featured on a NACCHO webinar, Building a QI Culture, explaining her agency's commitment to quality improvement. Listen to her interview on KMUW here.
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NACCHO Performance Improvement Technical Assistance Webinar: April 12
NACCHO's Performance Improvement Technical Assistance webinars 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! The next webinar is scheduled for Thursday, April 12 at 2:00PM ET; it will focus on quality improvement and performance management in public health. To register for the call or to find more information, visit www.naccho.org/PITeleconference. If you have a question related to performance improvement, send it to performance@naccho.org. Questions will be addressed during a webinar or via e-mail.
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Reminders:
QI Stories Contest: Don't forget to submit your QI stories to our Stories of Measurable Improvement Database to be entered in our content. Entries are due by 3/30 to be eligible for prizes. See last month's newsletter for details.
NACCHO's Accreditation Coordinators Learning Community: Has your local health department already applied to PHAB? If so, consider joining NACCHO's Accreditation Coordinators Learning Community, a network for local health departments currently enrolled in PHAB's accreditation process. Find out more information here.
TRAIN Webinar tomorrow: TRAIN, the nation's premier learning management system for professionals and volunteers who protect the public's health, would like to invite public health professionals to attend the final webinar in a three-part series focusing on accreditation. This one-hour webinar will be held on March 20, 2012 at 2:00 pm ET. Public Health Accreditation & Competency Based Learning: A Model Based on the TRAIN Learning Management System (Webinar 3), will focus on identifying the impact of effectiveness and efficiency of learning management systems (LMS) on accreditation workforce development efforts. Topics such as human resource needs, training needs assessments, and cost savings will be discussed and demonstrated. Register online here.
NNPHI Public Health Agency, Systems, & Community Health Improvement Training: On behalf of the National Public Health Performance Standards Program (NPHPSP) partnership, the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) is pleased to announce its 10th Annual Training, Improving Public Health: Exploring Agency, Systems, & Community Health Improvement Training, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its NPHPSP and accreditation partners, scheduled for May 8th & 9th in Atlanta, Georgia.
This year's training offers opportunities to learn about public health agency accreditation, systems performance standards, quality improvement, health assessment and improvement planning, and how all of these support an overall public health improvement strategy. Special attention will be given to preparing for PHAB accreditation, implementing the accreditation pre-requisites (Community Health Assessment and Improvement Planning and Strategic Planning), and implementing the NPHPSP tools.
Please click here for more information and to register. Please sign up soon as space is limited and registration closes on April 18, 2012. For more information, please contact Lil Johnson at Ljohnson@nnphi.org.
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