The nation’s public health departments can now voluntarily seek national accreditation. According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, at least one health district in the state has applied to receive the status. Several others tell WABE they plan to apply.
The Public Health Accreditation Board says the program is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is aimed at improving the quality and performance of the nation’s public health departments. Kay Bender is president and chief executive officer of the Board.
“A health department that puts its work out for review against nationally accepted standards is saying to the public it serves that we’re open, we’re transparent, we’re accountable and we’re committed to doing the best job that we can.”
Last month, the Public Health Accreditation Board awarded national accreditation status to 11 health departments out of thousands across the country. None of the departments were in Georgia. But Fulton County Director of Health Services Dr. Patrice Harris says the Fulton County Health department plans to begin the process of applying in the near future.
“I want us to be accredited. This is the wave of the future. We will be at some point, and in fact on the behavioral health side we’ve been accredited by the Joint Commission for some time now.”
But Harris says receiving national accreditation will take some time.
“There’s the pre-application phase, then you have to apply, then there are documents you have to submit to the accreditation board, then there’s the site visit.”
And Fulton County is not alone, the Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Departments hope to apply by late next year. Karen Shields is a spokesperson for the departments.
“It will help us to identify performance improvement opportunities, enhance our management, develop leadership and teamwork and strengthen relationships within our community.”
Departments are evaluated on approximately 100 standards that include emergency preparedness, departments’ plans to improve morbidity and mortality and how they handle health enforcement. Once the departments apply, the process is expected to take between nine months to a year. Health experts say after the accreditation is around for several years, it’s possible those in charge of competitive federal and private grants could use the status to decide between two applications that are otherwise equal.
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