Accredited health departments demonstrate their commitment to accountability, transparency, and performance improvement.
March 20, 2024 – Alexandria, VA – The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) today announced the names of 17 public health departments—four state and thirteen local—that have received accreditation or reaccreditation status. After demonstrating their commitment to building and maintaining a strong infrastructure to better serve their communities, these health departments have achieved accreditation for the next five years.
PHAB’s accreditation process involves a comprehensive review of health department policies, practices, and performance against a set of nationally recognized, evidence-based, and peer-driven standards. These standards cover areas such as health promotion, disease prevention, emergency preparedness, and community engagement.
“The PHAB accreditation process has been a large-scale multiyear improvement process in and of itself and the process has given the Alaska Division of Public Health the opportunity to streamline procedures, strengthen communications, and enhance several key aspects of our work,” said Lisa McGuire, MPH, Accreditation Coordinator at Alaska Division of Public Health. “We are so proud to have earned accreditation status as it shows our incredible work and continued commitment to ongoing quality improvement to best serve Alaskans.”
“We are proud and excited to share the news of our reaccreditation with our dedicated staff and the community we serve. This achievement reflects our ongoing commitment to maintaining and delivering exceptional public health services to our community,” said Regina Chinsio-Kwong, DO, County Health Officer and Chief of Public Health Services at OC Health Care Agency (HCA). “We want to express our gratitude to PHAB for establishing standards that strengthen public health infrastructure and for recognizing the HCA’s high performance and commitment to quality and community partnerships. We also extend our appreciation to our dedicated team for making reaccreditation possible.”
Accreditation plays a vital role in promoting continuous improvement by holding health departments accountable and transparent. It encourages quality and performance enhancement and strengthens health department infrastructure. Accreditation assures the community and other stakeholders that the health department is in line with national standards and has the necessary foundational capabilities to serve their communities effectively.
“We are proud to recognize these health departments for fostering trust, accountability and transparency through accreditation,” said PHAB President and CEO Paul Kuehnert, DNP, RN, FAAN. “Their dedication to meeting national standards of public health practice reflects their commitment to improving the health and well-being of their communities.”
The newly accredited health departments join a growing network of over 400 health departments that have achieved this recognition.
National initial accreditation was awarded on March 13, 2024, to the following health departments:
- Alaska Division of Public Health
- Brown County Health and Human Services-Public Health Division, WI
- Buffalo Trace District Health Department, KY
- Conneaut City Health Department, OH
- Grand Forks Public Health Department, ND
- New Philadelphia City Health District, OH
National reaccreditation was awarded on March 13, 2024, to the following health departments:
- Arizona Department of Health Services
- Cecil County Health Department, MD
- City of Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services, NH
- Florence County Health Department, WI
- Huron County Public Health, OH
- Lake County General Health District, OH
- Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
- Orange County Health Care Agency, CA
- Prince William Health District, VA
- Rhode Island Department of Health
- Stark County Health Department, OH
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About PHAB
The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) is a 501(c)(3) organization and is the sole national accrediting body for public health in the U.S. PHAB supports health departments in their work to serve their communities with many tools and resources, and helps strengthen health department infrastructure, workforce, and data modernization efforts to promote public health system transformation.
