Board Expresses Appreciation to Dr. Judith Monroe

	Judith Monroe receives appreciation award from PHAB Board Chair Bud Nicola in March.

During its March meeting, the PHAB Board of Directors expressed appreciation to Judith Monroe, MD, FAAFP, as she vacated her role as deputy director for CDC's Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support (OSTLTS) to become president and CEO of the CDC Foundation. Dr. Monroe had served on PHAB's Board of Directors before joining the leadership team at OSTLTS in 2010, where her support for accreditation continued as she oversaw key activities and technical assistance supporting the nation's health departments and the public health system. The PHAB Board commended Dr. Monroe's work as a long-standing champion for accreditation to be used as a means for strengthening state, Tribal, local and territorial health department capacity and performance.

Dr. F. Douglas Scutchfield poses with the Foundation's gift.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Recognizes Dr. F. Douglas Scutchfield
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) recently recognized PHAB Board Member F. Douglas Scutchfield, MD, for "bringing new visibility and credibility to the field during a time of rapid change in public health and health care" in the United States.

"The advances made over the past decade in better understanding public health systems and services and their impact on the health of Americans are, in large part, due to your leadership, scholarship and advocacy," wrote RWJF President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, in an April 15 letter. Dr. Scutchfield, who chairs PHAB's Accreditation Committee, is the Peter P. Bosomworth Professor of Health Services Research and Policy at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health in Lexington.

The recognition came with the gift of a captain's chair engraved with the Foundation's seal. PHAB joins with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in congratulating "Scutch" for his dedication and leadership in providing a better understanding of the U.S. public health system and services.


PHAB Says Goodbye to Long-Term Board Member

	Edward Harrison

Long-time PHAB Board member Edward Harrison, MBA, recently announced his resignation from the PHAB Board of Directors. Serving on the PHAB Board since 2007, Mr. Harrison was one of three original PHAB Board members appointed by the PHAB Board of Incorporators. Mr. Harrison served as PHAB's Treasurer and Secretary throughout his tenure and was instrumental in moving PHAB from a grant-supported program to a non-profit organization with a strong sustainability foundation. To his work on PHAB's Board, Mr. Harrison brought a wealth of accreditation expertise, having served as president and CEO of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) from 1993 until his retirement in 2014. NCCHC is the leading provider of standards and accreditation for correctional health services. PHAB wishes Ed all the best in the next venture of his life.

Benefits of Accreditation Now Reaching More than Half the Nation
On May 17, 2016, PHAB awarded national accreditation status to 17 state and local governmental public health departments, bringing the benefits of this crucial credential to another 13 million people in the United States. Since the launch of PHAB's national accreditation program in 2011, 134 public health departments and one integrated local public health department system have achieved accreditation through PHAB, which aims to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing and ultimately transforming the quality and performance of the nation's state, local, Tribal and territorial public health departments. The recent accreditation decisions mean that the transformational benefits of being served by a PHAB-accredited health department are now reaching 167 million people, or 54 percent of the U.S. population.

The May decisions bring the number of PHAB-accredited state health departments to 19 and the number of PHAB-accredited local health departments to 115. In all, 42 states plus the District of Columbia now have PHAB-accredited health departments within their borders.

National accreditation status was awarded May 17, 2016 to:

• Arkansas Department of Health, Little Rock, AR
• Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department, Austin, TX
• Carson City Health and Human Services, Carson City, NV
• Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services, Columbia, MO
• County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, San Diego, CA
• Fairfax County Health Department, Fairfax, VA
• Kendall County Health Department, Yorkville, IL
• Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Augusta, ME
• Maricopa County Department of Public Health, Phoenix, AZ    
• Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Lincoln, NE
• Orange County Health Care Agency, Santa Ana, CA     
• Panhandle Public Health District, Hemingford, NE
• Pima County Health Department, Tucson, AZ    
• Preble County General Health District, Eaton, OH
• Rush County Health Department, Rushville, IN
• Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, Tacoma, WA
• Wood County Health District, Bowling Green, OH

Read the full press release here.

 

 

In Worcester, Mass., staff from Worcester Division of Public Health/Central Massachusetts Regional Public Health Alliance, celebrated the department's accreditation on March 17, 2016.

E-newsletter readers will be interested in two new major bodies of work on which PHAB is on track for a 2016-2017 release for review. First, reaccreditation requirements are being developed now and will be available for public vetting this summer. Be sure to check PHAB's website often so that you can be part of this important opportunity to help shape the future of reaccreditation. PHAB will also issue a special edition of the e-newsletter.
 
PHAB's second important body of work is the development of an accreditation-related product for health departments serving populations of fewer than 50,000 and/or with 10 or fewer full-time employees. While initial accreditation will continue to be available to all health departments, PHAB is working on a "pathway to accreditation" product that may be of interest to those small health departments that have work to do before they will be ready to apply successfully for initial accreditation. A group of dedicated public health practitioners is advising PHAB on this process and will be working systematically through the summer to develop the requirements, with a plan to vet them with the broader public health community in early 2017. PHAB will also sponsor webinars and "listening sessions" for those who wish to share their perspectives and recommendations. Be on the lookout for a new "Hot Topics" icon and similarly named tab on PHAB's home page, which will debut later this month and will link directly to all of the updates on this project. Please make sure to check that tab regularly for information on how you can participate in building this new PHAB service. With this newsletter, PHAB is pleased to unveil two new features aimed at widely disseminating the impact and benefits of PHAB accreditation.

Accreditation Works!
If you've visited PHAB's home page recently, you might have noticed an exciting new feature called Accreditation Works!  Launched in April, Accreditation Works! is designed to showcase the benefits national accreditation brings to public health departments and communities while also providing insight into accreditation's broad impact. If you haven't already done so, we hope you'll take a moment to check out the first three Accreditation Works! stories:
*    How Accreditation is Transforming Wood County Health Department, by Susan
     Kunferman;
*    QI is Now the New Way of Doing Business at Tarrant County Public Health, by Donald
     Fisher; and
*    Why Accreditation Matters at Harford County Health Department, by Russell Moy.

To support this feature, every PHAB-accredited health department is invited to contribute a 300-to-600-word narrative describing how their health department has changed as a result of going through the accreditation process. Collectively, these stories will serve as first-hand testimonies of how PHAB accreditation benefits health departments and their communities. Submissions may be emailed to tnicolaus@phaboard.org with the words "Accreditation Works" in the "subject" line. With a goal of documenting the key benefits of accreditation, the PHAB Accreditation Impact Series also recently debuted on PHAB's website. The first installment in the series highlights the many ways accreditation strengthens engagement in quality improvement and performance management in order to improve the health department's ability to serve its community. It includes evaluation findings about the link between accreditation and quality improvement as well as a table summarizing key messages -- targeted to various potential audiences  -- related to the topic. As part of the series, PHAB is also offering a version that includes a Researcher Addendum describing relevant survey questions and data. Future PHAB Accreditation Impact Series topics will highlight a range of key benefits and will incorporate related Accreditation Works! submissions whenever possible. For information on this series, email jkronstadt@phaboard.org.


PHAB Participates in COPPHI Open Forum in Indianapolis  
PHAB joined more than 275 colleagues in Indianapolis, Ind., in April for the 13th Community of Practice for Public Health Improvement (COPPHI) Open Forum for Quality Improvement in Public Health. The April 7-8 event featured discussions about health department performance, quality improvement, and innovative ways for addressing current public health challenges. PHAB also participated in a plenary session hosted by the Public Health National Center for Innovations (PHNCI), during which the first three Learning Community states (Ohio, Oregon and Washington) discussed their work related to the foundational public health services and public health systems redesign. PHAB partnered with the Center for Sharing Public Health Services to provide an interactive session on sharing public health services and the implications for accreditation.

At a Town Hall hosted by PHAB, issues such as reaccreditation, the future work related to performance improvement for smaller health departments, and the new accreditation fee structure were discussed.

The closing day of the Open Forum included an event showcasing the work of the 22 health departments that participated in a QI Leaders Academy designed to equip QI leaders working in accredited public health organizations with the knowledge and skills needed to promote rapid and measurable improvements in public health work processes and outcomes. Illustrations of the various approaches to QI in each health department were shared. PHAB plans to publish a full report of the QI Leaders Academy in a few weeks. Please watch the website for the posting.

QI Leaders Academy members pause for a photo during the final day of the COPPHI Open Forum on April 8 in Indianapolis.

PHAB Calendar Highlights Learning Events
PHAB's Learning Center has been a hub of activity in recent months. From February to May, 48 new Accreditation Coordinators completed PHAB's two-day training during three separate Applicant Learning Events. The two-day events consist of both didactic and discussion methods to provide a detailed description of what to expect in the remaining steps of the accreditation process, as well as critical factors for successful completion toward PHAB accreditation.

In addition, 24 public health practitioners gathered at PHAB's Learning Center in March for a two-day Site Visitor Learning Event. Site Visitors play a critical role in PHAB's accreditation process by reviewing health department documentation, visiting health departments, and writing the Site Visit Report on which the Accreditation Committee bases its decisions.

Site Visitor Learning Event participants pause for a group photo on March 15, 2016 in Alexandria, Va.

Evidence Base Expert Panel Meets at PHAB
During the winter, PHAB convened an expert panel on strategies to track and assess the evidence base supporting the PHAB Standards and Measures. Public health experts working at libraries, journals, and research institutions attended the meeting in PHAB's Alexandria, Va., office to provide advice on how to monitor and synthesize research findings. Their input will help PHAB put into place systems for the ongoing tracking of evidence, which will inform future efforts to revise the Standards and Measures.
 


Site Visitors Attend 2016 Site Visitor Refresher Webinar
A total of 192 PHAB Site Visitors participated in the 2016 Site Visitor Refresher Webinar on May 12. The 90-minute annual refresher -- a requirement for all active Site Visitors -- provided additional guidance, updates, and topics of interest to Site Visitors.
 
This year's webinar covered a range of topics, including issues related to serving as a representative of PHAB, changes in the Site Visitor Agreement, results of a May 2014 NORC survey of Site Visitors, changes adopted in the Initial Guide to Public Health Department Accreditation, the importance of the Site Visit Report, and tips on writing the report.
 
Site Visitors who were unable to attend the live webinar are required to view it online. To receive credit for the webinar, all Site Visitors must complete a quiz by June 10. The second part of the refresher training, PHAB 2016 Refresher Assessment Competencies, must be completed by June 30. For more information, contact PHAB Volunteer Services Manager Jeff Lake at jlake@phaboard.org or via phone at 703-778-4549, ext. 110.


Join PHNCI at Conferences this Summer
June 15-17 in Baltimore, Md.  PHNCI will host an optional breakfast round table on Thursday, June 16.
June 21-22 in Wichita, Kansas. PHNCI will keynote the Midyear Meeting on June 21, providing an overview of the Center, the foundational public health services, work of the Learning Community sites and PHAB updates.

NACCHO Annual:

July 19-21 in Phoenix, Ariz. PHNCI will have an exhibit booth and will present during two concurrent sessions: Foundational Public Health Services: Transforming and Innovating to Serve All Communities; and Comprehensive Public Health Delivery Systems: Using Foundational Capabilities to Achieve Health Impact and Equity.

For more information, email PHNCI Program Specialist Travis Parker Lee. 

Liza Corso Recognized by CDC for Accreditation Work
Liza Corso, MPA, in March received the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Thomas A. Bartenfeld III Award for Public Health Practice. Given during the 64th Annual CDC/ATSDR Honor Awards ceremony on March 29, the award recognizes an individual who reflects excellence in public health practice -- that rare combination of perspective grounded in frontline, day-to-day public health work and constant drive toward meaningful program measurement and outcomes. Liza, who serves as Senior Advisor for Public Health Practice and Accreditation in CDC's Division of Public Health Performance Improvement, Office for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support, received the award largely for her tireless work in supporting accreditation, not only with PHAB but also with national partner organizations and health departments alike.

Often informally billed as the CDC's version of the Oscars, more than 300 individual and group nominees were submitted for 40 awards presented in four categories: Science and Program, Management and Operations, CDC Director's Awards, and Commissioned Corps awards. PHAB congratulates Liza on a well-deserved recognition!

Liza Corso, center, accepts the Thomas A. Bartenfeld III Award for Public Health Practice from CDC Foundation President and CEO Dr. Judith Monroe, left, and CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden.

The National Quality Forum's Population Health Framework Action Guide 3.0 is now available for public comment. The draft Guide builds upon the Action Guide 2.0, incorporating additional feedback from the 10 Field Testing Groups. The Guide will be available for public comment through 6 p.m. June 22, 2016. To view more information about the Community Action Guide and the work NQF is pursuing in population health, and to comment on the Action Guide 3.0, please visit the Population Health Framework web page. The release of the STAR Community Rating System (STAR) in 2012 marked an important milestone in the urban sustainability movement. Hundreds of stakeholders worked together by consensus to deliver a common framework for sustainability with nationally accepted standards for measuring the depth and breadth of the social, economic, and environmental issues that our nation's cities and counties are facing. STAR has now marked a new milestone: more than 50 cities and counties have been certified under the STAR Community Rating System, with hundreds of others actively using the framework to guide local planning, decision-making, investment, and public engagement. The rating system's metrics and methods have inspired local leaders to be more inclusive, make equitable investments, advance work on climate, integrate health into sustainability considerations, collaborate within and across departments, and build broader community support, both with residents and the business community. As a partner in this effort, PHAB acknowledges the achievements of the 50 STAR-certified communities and is pleased to share the report about the first 50 certified communities, lessons learned, and ways that STAR is helping towns, cities, and counties to become more sustainable, equitable, and resilient.  Read the full report here.


New NIHB Video Highlights Tribal Leaders' Perspective on PHAB Accreditation
The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) announces the release of a new video titled Tribal Leaders' Perspectives on Public Health Accreditation. Produced by a team from NIHB and the American Indian Public Health Resource Center at North Dakota State University, the video features the voices of elected Tribal leaders and Tribal public health leaders from across Indian Country discussing the significance of voluntary public health accreditation to the future health of Tribal communities.

The video is part of a larger national effort led by NIHB, in partnership with Tribes and other national organizations, to advance public health accreditation in Tribal communities. For more information, visit the NIHB Tribal Accreditation Support Initiative web page.


PHF Continuously Improving the Public Health Improvement Resource Center to Support Accreditation Efforts
To provide easy access to the most relevant performance improvement resources, the Public Health Foundation (PHF) recently improved the user experience of the Public Health Improvement Resource Center. The redesigned front page now includes streamlined search characteristics and the ability to tailor searches by each of the 12 PHAB accreditation Domains. A rigorous review of the Public Health Improvement Resource Center has been completed and all 500+ resources have been evaluated for content, clarity, and relevance. If you have a great performance improvement or accreditation-focused resource, let PHF's team know and help to build this growing database of resources.

PHF and PHAB to Host Webinar on Updated PHAB Guide
The Guide to National Public Health Department Initial Accreditation was updated last year and went into full effect on February 1, 2016. Whether you are a new applicant or applied for accreditation prior to the release of the new guide, these guidelines apply to your organization. Join PHAB's David Stone and the Public Health Foundation's Margie Beaudry on Wednesday, August 17 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. for a webinar titled Practical Application of the Updated PHAB Guide. This webinar will provide an overview of the updates to the Guide and how the changes fit into PHAB's seven-step process. Attendees will learn lessons from the experiences of health departments that were among the early applicants and plan to integrate a performance improvement mindset while using the Guide to avoid common pitfalls. Register for the webinar today.


NACCHO/CDC Accreditation Support Initiative Now in its Fifth Year
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support has provided funding to the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) for the Accreditation Support Initiatives (ASIs). Now in its fifth year, the program is helping 23 local health departments and four health departments from U.S. territories/freely associated states advance their PHAB accreditation readiness efforts with monetary awards and opportunities for technical assistance and peer sharing. Awardees must complete one or more deliverables that relate to PHAB Standards and Measures documentation. Lessons learned from this year's and previous year's sites are posted at www.naccho.org/asi.

Janell Miller Joins PHAB Staff
PHAB is pleased to announce that Janell Miller joined the PHAB staff in April in the role of executive assistant and office coordinator.
 
Prior to joining PHAB, Janell worked as an executive assistant and human resources supervisor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Janell will complete her bachelor's degree in business administration from the College of Southern Maryland in the coming year. Originally from Jacksonville, Fla., she lives in Alexandria, Va., with her husband, Landon, and 8-year-old daughter, Olivia. In her free time, Janell enjoys fundraising and volunteering at her local city recreation center.

Please join us in welcoming Janell to the PHAB family!