Health Department Information
The goal of voluntary national public health accreditation is to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of public health departments.
The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) defines public health accreditation as the development of a set of standards, a process to measure health department performance against those standards, and reward or recognition for those health departments who meet the standards. Accreditation is a mechanism for demonstrating a local health department’s capacity for providing the essential services as well as its ability to do so through a culture of continuous quality improvement. The PHAB Standards and Measures Version 1.5 were released in January 2014.
Health departments must complete three prerequisites in the five years prior to applying for accreditation:
- A community health assessment
- A community health improvement plan
- An agency strategic plan
The Kansas Health Matters Partners represent a variety of organizations committed to assisting local health departments achieve accreditation readiness. The Partners feel that this website is an essential tool in assisting health departments complete the CHA and CHIP pre-requisites, and encourage communities to complete these community-oriented processes for population health improvement regardless of their intent to apply for accreditation in the near future. Tools and resources for completing these items may be found in the Health Assessment and Improvement Tools section.
The PHAB standards were developed through the framework of the 10 Essential Public Health Services:
- Monitor the health of the community
- Diagnose and investigate health problems
- Inform, educate, and empower people
- Mobilize community partnerships
- Develop policies
- Enforce laws and regulations
- Link to/provide health services
- Assure a competent workforce
- Evaluate quality
- Research for new insights
Local health departments may seek accreditation as an individual agency or as a region, using the multi-jurisdictional approach. Accreditation status lasts for 5 years; at the end of the 5 year cycle, the department must seek reaccreditation.
The seven steps of the accreditation process are:
- Pre-application
- Accreditation Readiness Checklist
- Online Orientation
- Statement of Intent
- Application
- Documentation Selection and Submission
- Site Visit
- Accreditation Decision
- Reports
- Reaccreditation
For more information about health department accreditation, visit http://www.kdheks.gov/cpm/pha.htm.