{"id":13731,"date":"2022-08-25T15:05:22","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T19:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phaboard.org\/?p=13731"},"modified":"2022-08-25T15:05:22","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T19:05:22","slug":"twenty-four-health-departments-awarded-accreditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phaboard.org\/news\/twenty-four-health-departments-awarded-accreditation\/","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-four health departments and one vital records\/health statistics unit awarded accreditation or reaccreditation status by the Public Health Accreditation Board"},"content":{"rendered":"

Media Contact:
\nJanalle Goosby, Senior Communications Specialist
\njgoosby@phaboard.org<\/p><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>

info@phaboard.org<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

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PHAB awards accreditation to high-performing health departments and a vital records unit<\/em><\/h4>\n

Alexandria, VA <\/strong>– 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAchieving PHAB accreditation has helped our health department formally advance meaningful community engagement, incorporate transparency to stakeholders, and embrace discussion with leadership,\u201d said Pam Thunder, RS, accreditation coordinator for the Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Health. \u201cIt 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 \u2018building a strong mind, body, and spirit together.\u2019 Waza higiwire (we care).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaintaining our national accreditation, especially during a worldwide pandemic, reaffirms our commitment to delivering high quality public health services to our communities,\u201d said Dr. Jeff Howard, interim director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness and chief health strategist for the city. \u201cI\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Achieving and maintaining accreditation demonstrates a commitment to continuous quality and performance improvement, transparency, and accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunities served by accredited health departments can feel confident that their health department is performing in line with national public health standards,\u201d said PHAB President and CEO Paul Kuehnert, DNP, RN, FAAN.\u00a0 \u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n

International initial accreditation was awarded August 18, 2022 to:<\/p>\n