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Greetings from PHAB,
This is the time of the year that many people begin to prepare for the holidays. The next two months will be filled with excitement, busier-than-usual schedules, and plans for the new year. That describes the environment here at PHAB. We are continuing to receive statements of intent and applications - 106 as of mid-November - and site visits are being held nearly every week. It is a great time for public health accreditation in the United States!
In this newsletter, you will read about the issues that the PHAB Board of Directors addressed at its September meeting. You will also learn about other exciting accreditation activities on which PHAB has been working since the last newsletter.
Please join us in welcoming Accreditation Specialist Brittan Wood to PHAB's growing team. Brittan joins PHAB Accreditation Specialists Rachel Margolis, Marita Chilton, and Jennifer Jimenez in supporting health departments through the accreditation process.
As you plan your holiday time with friends and family, please know that the PHAB team is thankful for each and every one of you as you have supported, and continue to support, the work we do each day.
Let us hear from you if you have questions or suggestions for improvement.
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Issue #44
October/November 2012
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Kaye Bender, PhD, RN, FAAN
President and CEO
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PHAB IN ACTION
PHAB Hosts Learning Institute at APHA's 140th Annual Meeting in San Francisco
Evaluating and selecting documentation for health department accreditation took center stage October 28 at a PHAB Learning Institute in San Francisco.
Held in conjunction with the American Public Health Association's 140th Annual Meeting, the Learning Institute drew nearly 40 participants and provided the important knowledge base necessary for evaluating, creating, selecting, and revising documentation that can be used to demonstrate conformity with the PHAB Standards and Measures, Version 1.0. Led by Kaye Bender and PHAB Accreditation Education Specialist David Stone, the Learning Institute focused on hands-on learning and equipped participants with a solid understanding of the intent and interpretation of the standards and measures. Participants were eligible to receive three continuing education credits.  | |
Learning Institute participants begin a hands-on exercise at the October 28 event in San Francisco.
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PHAB Begins Work with U.S. Territories and Pacific Freely Associated States In keeping with PHAB's commitment to ensure that the accreditation standards and measures and process are applicable to any governmental public health department setting, PHAB recently began work with the U.S. Territories and Pacific Freely Associated States. For these public health departments, accreditation preparation connects closely with CDC's National Public Health Improvement Initiative (NPHII). To better understand these public health settings and to explore how the standards and measures and accreditation process might work in their organizational structures, PHAB Accreditation Specialist Jennifer Jimenez and Kaye Bender recently conducted an open session with performance and quality improvement leaders from these health departments. PHAB appreciates the assistance of Mark Durand from the Pacific Islands Health Officers Association (PIHOA), and CDC's Vicky Rayle and Bill Gallo, for supporting this connection.  | |
PHAB Accreditation Specialist Jennifer Jimenez, seated, second from right, poses with U.S. Territories and Pacific Freely Associated States representatives at a meeting in Honolulu in October.
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In addition to its work in the Pacific, PHAB has launched the same type of conversation with the U.S. Territories in the Caribbean. In October, PHAB Program Specialist Travis Parker Lee visited the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to learn more about Puerto Rico's public health structure and explore how accreditation might work in that setting. If you have questions or suggestions about this body of work, please feel free to contact Jennifer Jimenez at jjimenez@phaboard.org. New Site Visitors Learn, Share at PHAB Training Event PHAB continues to expand its pool of site visitors. In November, 14 volunteers received site-visitor training in Alexandria, Va., and are ready to receive their health department assignments. The two-day training covered topics ranging from preparing for and conducting a quality site visit to developing a site visit report. Site visitors also received hands-on experience in e-PHAB, the online information system that is used throughout the accreditation process by health departments, site visitors, PHAB staff, and PHAB's Accreditation Committee. Site visitor volunteers are a key to making the peer review component of PHAB's accreditation program work, said Kaye Bender, PhD, RN, FAAN, PHAB president and CEO, as she welcomed the reviewers to the November 15-16 site-visitor training in Alexandria, Va.  | |
Fourteen new volunteer site visitors attended a two-day training event in November.
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Call for New PHAB Site Visitors Opens December 17 PHAB is preparing to issue an open call for volunteer Site Visitors for the 2013-2014 review cycles. To be considered, Site Visitor candidates must have at least five years of professional experience in a Tribal, state, local, or territorial health department; management or leadership experience; and a baccalaureate degree or higher. If you are eligible, please consider being part of the exciting public health accreditation effort by volunteering to work with PHAB as a Site Visitor. The Site Visitor application will be posted on PHAB's website December 17. Fourth Group of Accreditation Coordinators Trained in November Interest in health department accreditation continues to increase, as does the demand for applicant training. In November, 18 health department Accreditation Coordinators attended PHAB's fourth applicant training in Alexandria, Va. The two-day session covered the important role and functions of the Accreditation Coordinator, including selecting documentation to upload into e-PHAB, as well as how to effectively plan for the total accreditation journey with PHAB. PHAB Board Member Hugh Tilson Receives Top Maine Public Health Honor  | |
Hugh Tilson
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PHAB Board Member Hugh H. Tilson, MD, DrPH, Sagadahoc County Health Officer, in October received the Maine Public Health Association's prestigious President's Award. MPHA's top honor went to Tilson for his exemplary service and commitment to the practice and profession of public health in Maine. In a ceremony honoring Tilson, MPHA Past President Dr. Anne Keith praised Tilson's leadership and sustained contributions over more than four decades - 15 years each spent in government, academia, and the multinational pharmaceutical industry. The award recognizes Tilson's work spanning 15 years in Maine - all of which was accomplished "after he thought he had retired," Keith said. In accepting the award, Tilson noted that public health requires teamwork and partnerships, which he said are abundant in Sagadahoc County. Tilson commended the contributions of "our Forum of 10 official local town health officers" convened by the Board of Health for training and collaboration. He also recognized the collaborative work of the District staff of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as Access Health, a local Healthy Maine Partnership that is focused on reducing tobacco use, unhealthy eating, and substance abuse. "At the heart of this recognition is Hugh's vision and dedication to the creation of the Sagadahoc County public health programs and its Board of Health, the only one of its kind in Maine," said Steven Trockman, MPH, chair of the Sagadahoc County Board of Health.
PHAB Welcomes New Staff
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PHAB welcomes Brittan Wood, MPH, CHES, to its growing team of Accreditation Specialists. Brittan brings a wealth of knowledge and public health accreditation experience to her new role. Prior to joining PHAB in October, Brittan served as the State Accreditation Administrator for the North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation program at the North Carolina Institute for Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Brittan's accreditation experience began in 2005 at the Rockingham County Department of Public Health, where she played an integral part in the department's accreditation process through the North Carolina program. Brittan holds a master's degree in public health from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
PHAB Seeks Data Analyst
The Public Health Accreditation Board is seeking a Data Analyst to join the PHAB team and assist with research and evaluation activities. Candidates must have strong quantitative skills and experience managing, cleaning, and analyzing data. The position, to be based at PHAB's office in Alexandria, Va., will be posted until December 17, 2012, or until it is filled. Please visit PHAB's website for the full job announcement and instructions on how to apply.
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PROGRAM NOTES: PHAB Program Updates
Highlights from PHAB Board of Directors Quarterly Meeting
The PHAB Board of Directors met in Chicago September 26-27 for a quarterly meeting. In addition to handling the usual business matters, the Board approved new policies to implement as a nonprofit organization operating in the Washington D.C. area. To ensure PHAB's long-term sustainability, the Board continued its work to update PHAB's business model. During the meeting, the PHAB Accreditation Committee, which maintains a close working relationship with the PHAB Board of Directors, presented a report to the Board on its recent meeting and proposed procedural adjustments.
Also during the September meeting, the PHAB Board of Directors approved the use of PHAB Standards and Measures, Version 1.0, and the Guide to National Public Health Department Accreditation, Version 1.0, through June 30, 2014.
The Board also discussed linkages with other key public health accreditation related initiatives funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Such discussions ensure consistency in planning, implementing, and evaluating the accreditation program's work and also support initiatives aimed at preparing health departments for accreditation. Additionally, the Board engaged in a dialogue with Robert Pestronk, Executive Director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, about local health departments' experiences with preparing for accreditation. PHAB will continue to hear from national partner organizations at Board meetings throughout the year as part of an ongoing effort to learn how to better serve health department applicants.
Also during the meeting, PHAB Chief Program Officer Robin Wilcox was honored for five years of service to PHAB.
The next meeting of the PHAB Board of Directors is set for November 28-29 in Phoenix.
Suggestions Sought for Revisions to PHAB Standards and Measures Version 1.0
PHAB continues to seek your suggestions for changes, additions, or deletions to PHAB Standards and Measures, Version 1.0. Please continue to email your suggestions to PHAB Chief Program Officer Robin Wilcox at rwilcox@phaboard.org. Please be as specific as possible, and provide explanations or reasons for your suggestions. Suggested additions to the PHAB Acronyms and Glossary of Terms Version 1.0 are also welcome.
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PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: American Public Health Association
APHA Supports Accreditation Readiness With Funds From CDC
To assist local health departments on their journey to accreditation, the American Public Health Association in March awarded mini-grants to eight of its affiliated state and regional public health associations.
Provided with funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the grants supported APHA affiliates' efforts to advance the accreditation readiness of Tribal, state, local, and territorial health departments.
The six-month project period came to a close October 31, and final reports of the affiliates' activities are being reviewed. Preliminary results point to successes across the country. Thanks to the CDC funds, hundreds of public health professionals were able to benefit from training workshops, regional meetings, webinars, conferences, educational videos, and resources on community health improvement and organizational strategic planning.
One example of the breadth of activities supported by CDC through the APHA mini-grants was a Technical Training Day on local public health accreditation in New York's Hudson Valley and metropolitan area of New York. Nearly 50 people attended the Sept. 20 event, which was hosted by the New York State Public Health Association in partnership with the New York State Association of County Health Officials and the New York State Department of Health. The training day provided sound guidance and examples of the development of local health department strategic plans, and featured an in-depth exploration of the community health improvement planning process. Numerous in-depth presentations were delivered, including an overview of the accreditation process by PHAB President and CEO Kaye Bender.
"APHA recognizes the importance of public health quality, and the achievement of standards for health departments that ultimately improve leadership and enhance the public's health," said Karlene Baddy, MEd, Director of Public Health Systems and Partnerships at APHA. "To that end, APHA has been at the forefront of public health quality and recognizes the unique and critical role that Affiliates have in informing the accreditation process in local communities."
In presenting the mini-grants, APHA issued a request for proposals in January 2012 to its 53 state and regional affiliates to support activities leading to the national accreditation of Tribal, state, local, and territorial health departments. To be eligible for the CDC funds, Affiliates had to demonstrate that they had established or proposed to establish a close working relationship with their Tribal, state, local or territorial health department. In awarding the grants, a panel of experts reviewed proposals for feasibility and cost-effectiveness.
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PHAB's Kaye Bender, second from left, poses with the leaders of a Technical Training Day held in New York on Sept. 20. From left: Oscar Alleyne, President of the New York State Public Health Association; Linda Wagner, Executive Director of the New York State Association of County Health Officials; Priti Irani, Research Scientist, New York State Department of Health; and Sylvia Pirani, Director of the Office of Public Health Practice at the New York State Department of Health.
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Awarded in March 2012, the $4,000 mini-grants went to eight APHA-affiliated public health associations based on their proposed activities:
Iowa Public Health Association: Funded to convene two regional meetings to promote strategic planning and to develop an online toolkit with strategic planning resources for local health departments.
Kansas Public Health Association: Funded to develop an educational video on public health accreditation to enhance statewide participation in national accreditation.
Montana Public Health Association: Funded to provide a one-and-a-half-day training workshop on community health assessments and community health improvement plans with local health departments in Montana.
New York State Public Health Association: Funded to improve the capacity of local health departments in the Hudson Valley region to complete the pre-requisites of the PHAB accreditation process by providing technical assistance, trainings, and resources on community health improvement and organizational strategic planning.
Ohio Public Health Association: Funded to conduct an analysis of Ohio's 120 local health departments to determine their knowledge, attitudes, and readiness related to public health accreditation. Respondents were to be stratified into tiers of readiness for accreditation based on survey results. Technical assistance sessions were to be tailored to each tier to move into the next stage of readiness.
Oregon Public Health Association: Funded to provide a training series to Tribal, local, and state health departments on performance management and quality improvement planning. The training series was to include a one-day in-person workshop, two follow-up webinars, and a round table discussion.
Texas Public Health Association: Funded to provide an accreditation conference to local health departments focusing on the community health assessment and community health improvement plan, and agency strategic plan.
Washington State Public Health Association: Funded to provide a three-hour workshop to Tribal and local health department staff on how to prepare for accreditation and to meet specific accreditation measures.
For more information about the mini-grants, email karlene.baddy@apha.org. For more information about APHA's quality improvement initiatives visit the American Public Health Association website.
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WORD ON THE STREET: A Round Up of Accreditation Questions and Answers
1. We would like to anticipate when our health department's Site Visit Report might be reviewed for an accreditation decision. Can you tell us how long after our site visit we will receive an accreditation decision?
Keep in mind that accreditation decisions are made by the Accreditation Committee, not the PHAB Board of Directors. PHAB cannot anticipate how a particular health department's report will queue for Accreditation Committee decisions. Therefore, PHAB cannot anticipate when the Accreditation Committee will make an accreditation decision for any particular health department. The Accreditation Committee will meet at least quarterly every year and may meet more frequently based on its workload. Accreditation Committee meetings have not yet been scheduled for 2013. Meetings will be scheduled to accommodate the review process and work load. Accreditation Committee meetings will be held independently from and at different times than PHAB Board of Directors meetings. So, it is important to note that the dates of the 2013 Board meetings have nothing to do with the timing of accreditation decisions.
Some Site Visit Reports may take longer for the Accreditation Committee to review than others due to the complexity or number of issues raised in the report. Each Site Visit Report will be reviewed by two Accreditation Committee members assigned to serve as primary and secondary reviewers. The reviewers will make a recommendation to the full Accreditation Committee. Keep in mind that some reports may be reviewed before others, despite which health department completed its site visit first. However, all health departments will be notified of the date that the Accreditation Committee will review their Site Visit Report for an accreditation decision.
2. I know that I can download a copy of the PHAB Standards and Measures Version 1.0 from your website. My health department however, would like to order a paper copy. Whom should we contact and is there a cost?
Anyone who wishes to order printed, hard copies of PHAB Standards and Measures, Version 1.0, or any of PHAB's materials, can do so by emailing PHAB Office Manager Genny Lush at glush@phaboard.org. She will take your order and process it for you. There is a small charge to cover printing costs and shipping.
3. We are working on our prerequisites and have a question about the order in which we complete the prerequisites. Since PHAB talks about them in the order of a community health assessment, community health improvement plan, and department strategic plan, does the order matter to PHAB?
No. The order in which the health department develops these documents does not matter to PHAB. Whatever order works for the health department works for PHAB. You should keep in mind, however, that they do need to reflect information from one to the other. Thus, the health department's strategic plan should specify what parts of the community health assessment the health department will address in its strategies. And the community health improvement plan should be responsive to the findings and conclusions of the community health assessment.
4. PHAB's documentation guidance states that documents can be used more than once. As an example, could a workforce development plan be used in Domain 8 and then also in Domain 9 as a quality improvement example?
Yes, a plan may be used as documentation for more than one measure, provided that it meets the required documentation and guidance for each measure. Some health departments may have multiple plans that tie together. Other health departments may have one or two more comprehensive plans that address more than one domain and standard. If your department's plan is a comprehensive plan, you may submit it more than once. But be sure to point to the specific part of the plan that addresses the measure and describe how it meets the required documentation.
5. We like the fact that PHAB offers to provide interpretation of the standards and measures. However, sometimes it seems that PHAB staff point us right back to PHAB Standards and Measures Version 1.0 for the interpretation. Why is that?
Excellent observation! PHAB does do that, for a specific reason. The interpretation of any given measure relates to the standard under which it falls, as well as to the domain. Each standard and its related measures tell a story about that aspect of the health department. No part of the standards and measures should be viewed in isolation of the rest of the standards and measures. Thus, we take you back to the PHAB document to help you see those connections. Also, PHAB Standards and Measures Version 1.0 is the official document by which the health department will be assessed by the site visitors. PHAB staff cannot deviate from that written document. There are no other rules or templates to better assist the health department than those specified in PHAB Standards and Measures Version 1.0 themselves.
6. Does our workforce development plan need to address all of the domains?
Your workforce development plan should address the needs of your health department staff and reflect public health competencies. Each health department's plan should be unique to that setting, and the training agendas and schedule should reflect your plan.
7. Who at PHAB should we contact for specific questions and technical assistance?
You may contact:
Mark Paepcke, Chief Administrative Officer, to talk about fees and contractual information. He may be reached at mpaepcke@phaboard.org or 703-778-4549 ext. 104.
Robin Wilcox, Chief Program Officer, to talk about interpretation and meaning of the PHAB Standards and Measures as well as the accreditation process. She may be reached at rwilcox@phaboard.org or 703-778-4549 ext. 106.
Rachel Margolis, Jennifer Jimenez, Brittan Wood or Marita Chilton, Accreditation Specialists, to talk about the accreditation process for health departments. Rachel may be reached at rmargolis@phaboard.org or 703-778-4549 ext. 108; Jennifer at jjimenez@phaboard.org or 703-778-4549 ext. 107; Brittan at bwood@phaboard.org or 703-778-4549 ext. 115; and Marita at mchilton@phaboard.org or 703-778-4549 ext. 114.
David Stone, Accreditation Education Specialist, to talk about PHAB's education services, including orientations and trainings. He may be reached at dstone@phaboard.org or 703-778-4549 ext. 105.
Travis Parker Lee, Program Specialist, to talk about meetings, events, and requests for speakers. He may be reached at tlee@phaboard.org or 703-778-4549 ext. 102.
Jessica Kronstadt, Director of Research and Evaluation, to talk about public health accreditation-related research and evaluation. She may be reached at jkronstadt@phaboard.org or 703-778-4549 ext. 117.
Teddi Nicolaus, Communications Manager, to talk about accreditation-related news, media requests, and story ideas. She may be reached at tnicolaus@phaboard.org or 703-778-4549 ext. 118.
Kaye Bender, President/CEO, to talk about accreditation-related strategies, partnerships, long-range planning at PHAB, PHAB Board of Directors, committees, and think tanks. She may be reached at kbender@phaboard.org or 703-778-4549 ext. 103.
Genny Lush, Office Manager, to talk about general office inquiries. She may be reached at glush@phaboard.org or 703-778-4549 ext. 100.
If you have a suggestion for future segments of Word on the Street, please send them to Teddi Nicolaus.
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