Accreditation
National Public Health Accreditation
Local public health departments are now engaging in national public health accreditation to achieve two goals:
- Improve agency quality and performance, and
- Ensure that agencies are accountable to their governing bodies, policymakers, and the communities they serve.
Public health accreditation provides consistent standards so that people in different states, counties, and regions have access to the same range and quality of services. Accreditation also helps maximize scarce resources by encouraging strategic investments to improve people’s health, demonstrate accountability to residents and elected officials, and spur innovation as departments work together to meet community needs.
The national accreditation program is currently voluntary and officially began in 2011 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Monterey County Board of Supervisors authorized the Health Director to initiate our national public health accreditation application process in May 2011. The five-year process includes obtaining public and community partner input in developing a number of new assessments and analyses such as these:
- Community Health Assessment (analyzing our health outcomes for gaps in equity)
- Strategic Planning and Implementation (to set goals for improved health outcomes)
- Community Health Improvement Plan (determining efforts and timelines to address existing equity gaps)
- Local Public Health Systems Assessment (a look at the agencies that comprise the broader health care system, and the ways the agency services are collaborative and linked)
- Workforce Development Plan (assuring the availability of health professionals and improving standards of practice)
- Continuous Quality Improvement Plan (continuous and ongoing efforts to achieve measurable improvements in the efficiency, effectiveness, and equity of population health services)
To participate in these planning and implementation efforts, please contact Patricia Zerounian, MPP, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or at 831/755-4583.
Resources
Public Health Accreditation Board: http://www.phaboard.org/accreditation-overview/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/stltpublichealth/accreditation/
Association of State and Territorial Health Officers: http://www.astho.org/t/pres_chal_article.aspx?id=6361&terms=accreditation
Public Health Accreditation
Monterey County’s Community Health Assessment is a systematic examination of health status indicators for our population that will help identify key problem areas and important assets in our community. By looking at health indicators by age groups, race and ethnic groups, gender, and other socio-economic factors, we expect quantifiable inequities will emerge, for which we, our community partners, and interested residents will explore root causes that can be diminished with collaborative efforts.
Monterey County Health Department’s three 2011-2015 Strategic Plan Initiatives are to:
- Empower the community to improve health through programs, policies, and activities
- Enhance community health and safety by emphasizing prevention
- Ensure access to culturally and linguistically appropriate, customer friendly services
Click here to link to the Strategic Planning and Implementation webpage
public and private clinics, hospitals, emergency services, nonprofits, health insurance plans, health education programs, public and private schools, transportation, employment, and a host of related organizations.
The changing practice of public health requires Monterey County Health Department staff members to have skills in areas that were probably not part of their formal education, including informatics, communications, cultural competence, community engagement, and policy development. This makes on-the-job training critical for our workforce. Developing effective training methods and courses, and providing staff with time to participate in training, are equally important in helping staff members achieve and maintain the competencies needed for their jobs.
Quality improvement (QI) is increasingly being embraced as a means to achieve efficiencies and other improvements with limited resources. Beyond QI efforts that are specific to each Health Department bureau, 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 Monterey County Health Department does business.
