The Public Health Foundation (PHF) congratulates the eleven health departments that have received accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). The nine local and two state health departments went through a rigorous, multi-faceted, peer-reviewed assessment process to ensure they each met or exceeded a specific set of standards and measures. The national accreditation program, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, aims to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of the nation's public health departments.
PHF has worked with more than half of the accredited health departments on performance management, quality improvement (QI), and workforce development areas to assist with accreditation preparation.
"[Oklahoma City-County Health Department (OCCHD)] has capitalized on the skill set and broad knowledge of PHF and its consultants for the last several years in preparation for national accreditation. With PHF’s support and guidance, the OCCHD developed its first strategic plan, conducted all four components of the MAPP public health planning tool, and received continuous quality improvement training for multiple staff levels. Each of these areas was critical to our success in becoming one of the first local health departments to become accredited, we will continue to rely on PHF for our training and development needs in the future," shared Alicia Plati, Planning and Development Director of OCCHD, one of several accredited health departments that have received tailored on-site QI training from PHF’s QI experts.
The use of QI tools to assess gaps in workforce development is a common theme for this first group of accredited health departments. For example, Livingston County (NY) Health Department used a radar chart to conduct a workforce needs assessment based on the 8 domains of the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Core Competencies). The radar chart can also be used in conjunction with a prioritization matrix and a matrix diagram as part of the 3-Step Competency Prioritization Sequence. This set of QI tools introduces an efficient, step-by-step process for identifying gaps in current workforce strengths and prioritizing competencies to address a public health organization’s strategic goals. The example from Livingston County Health Department highlights one way the Core Competencies and QI tools have been used to assess and identify workforce competency gaps, as required under Domain 8 accreditation standards.
Several public health professionals from accredited health departments also participate in the Academic Health Department (AHD) Learning Community, which promotes linkages between academia and public health practice. An AHD represents a formal affiliation between a state or local health department and an academic health professions institution. The AHD Learning Community brings public health professionals together to share knowledge and experiences, and to work collaboratively to identify and create tools of potential use in developing and sustaining AHD relationships. Building these ties between health departments and academic institutions can help strengthen the development of future and current public health workforce members, another focus of Domain 8 of accreditation.
For support in workforce development areas, the Oklahoma Department of Health uses TRAIN as its primary learning management system. TRAIN is a web-based learning management solution that provides a robust clearinghouse of on-site training and distance learning opportunities available in local, state, and national jurisdictions. Through TRAIN, health departments can track and document course completion as part of their workforce development activities.
“Oklahoma-TRAIN was able to assist the agency with the PHAB accreditation by documenting the training received by our employees as well as the training provided by the Office of Performance Management on Quality Improvement,” said John McCarty, Learning Management System Administrator of Oklahoma Department of Health.
PHF applauds these exemplary health departments and all agencies that are on the way to achieving accreditation. To offer your own congratulations, please leave a comment on this page by clicking the “add a comment” link below or by posting to the PHF Facebook Page.
PHF’s accreditation preparation resources include presentations, white papers, case studies, and tools related to QI and workforce development to support PHAB Domains 8 and 9. If you know about a resource or tool that supports public health accreditation, please send an email with your suggestion to [email protected].