By: Kaye Bender, PhD, RN, FAAN - President and CEO, PHAB
The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) was established in 2007 to institute a national voluntary public health accreditation program for state, local and tribal health departments. The idea came about as a result of a study, Exploring Accreditation, which was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to research two questions: Is it desirable to establish a national voluntary public health accreditation program; and, is it feasible to do so? After several months of study and securing input from across the country, it was it was determined that it is both desirable and feasible to embark on this effort. A full report of the study and its recommendations are available on the PHAB Web site, www.phaboard.org.
PHAB has recently been busy developing and vetting the proposed standards for accreditation, in which we received almost 4,000 individual comments. Approximately 123 online surveys were completed. Many of the responses represented a group process, so a significantly larger number of public health stakeholders contributed this input. About 35 paper surveys were received. Twenty-nine feedback forms were received from groups who held vetting discussions. We also received more than a dozen narrative comments submitted in e-mails or letters. The Board has revised the standards and is now developing the beta test which will begin in the fall. Lessons learned from the beta test will result in revisions which can then be adopted prior to the official launch of the formal accreditation program, in 2011. The beta test will involve a variety of health departments relative to size, structure, population served, governance, geographic region, and degree of preparedness for accreditation. Beta test sites will be announced in October 2009, and training will begin shortly thereafter.
We encourage public health administrators to support their health departments if they are selected as a beta test site. And for those who are not, it’s not too early to be working on accreditation readiness documents such as strategic plans, community health assessments and community health improvement plans. A session at the APHA Annual Meeting entitled, “Public Health Accreditation Update” on Tuesday, Nov.10, 12:30-2:00 p.m., will give you all the latest and greatest information in the world of public health accreditation. We hope you will join us!
To get more information or to get involved, please see our Web site: www.phaboard.org.