Media Contact:
Janalle Goosby, Senior Communications Specialist
[email protected]

PHAB awards accreditation to high-performing health departments and a vital records unit

Alexandria, VA – The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) today announced the names of twenty-four public health departments and one vital records/health statistics (VRHS) unit that have achieved accreditation or reaccreditation status, including the first health department outside of the U.S. After completion of a systematic and peer-reviewed process against national standards, these health departments and the vital records unit have achieved accreditation for the next five years.

PHAB, the non-profit organization that administers the national accrediting program, works to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing and transforming the quality and performance of governmental public health departments in the United States and abroad.

“Achieving PHAB accreditation has helped our health department formally advance meaningful community engagement, incorporate transparency to stakeholders, and embrace discussion with leadership,” said Pam Thunder, RS, accreditation coordinator for the Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Health. “It has also laid a foundation to improve our existing programming and help us continue to grow our services and professionals in public health. Most importantly, it has helped us to develop formal processes and partnerships that will positively impact our community members to achieve ‘building a strong mind, body, and spirit together.’ Waza higiwire (we care).”

“Maintaining our national accreditation, especially during a worldwide pandemic, reaffirms our commitment to delivering high quality public health services to our communities,” said Dr. Jeff Howard, interim director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness and chief health strategist for the city. “I’m very proud of the work and dedication of our entire department to strengthen and continuously improve our public health practices. Our community can trust that we are guided by proven standards and practices.”

Achieving and maintaining accreditation demonstrates a commitment to continuous quality and performance improvement, transparency, and accountability.

“Communities served by accredited health departments can feel confident that their health department is performing in line with national public health standards,” said PHAB President and CEO Paul Kuehnert, DNP, RN, FAAN.  “We are proud of this (very large) group of health departments that took this critical step to demonstrate their commitment to high quality public health practices and continuously improving those practices over time.

International initial accreditation was awarded August 18, 2022 to:

  • Ministry of Public Health, Qatar

National initial accreditation was awarded August 18, 2022 to:

  • City of Hamilton Health Department, OH
  • City of Springdale Health Department, OH
  • Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Health, WI
  • Holmes County General Health District, OH
  • Mercer County Health District, OH
  • Ministry of Public Health, Qatar
  • Salem City Health District, OH
  • Shawnee County Health Department, KS
  • Shelby City Health Department, OH
  • Wyandot County General Health District, OH
  • Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department, OH

National reaccreditation was awarded August 18, 2022 to:

  • Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
  • Delaware Division of Public Health
  • Gallatin City-County Health Department, MT
  • Henry County Health Department, OH
  • Illinois Department of Public Health, IL
  • Jessamine County Health Department, KY
  • Lorain County Public Health, OH
  • Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness, KY
  • New York State Department of Health
  • North Dakota Department of Health
  • Tazewell County Health Department, IL
  • Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment, CO
  • Williamson County and Cities Health District, TX

National vital records/health statistics accreditation was awarded August 18, 2022 to:

  • Bureau of Health Statistics, IA

For more information, contact Janalle Goosby at [email protected]. Learn more about PHAB and accreditation at http://www.phaboard.org. Be in the know: subscribe to PHAB’s e-newsletter.