PHAB Accreditation: What it means for

Public Health

April 8, 2015CPHA Health Education Committee

ObjectivesO Identify the purpose and goals of the

Public Health Accreditation BoardO Describe why accreditation is

important for the advancement of public health

O Demonstrate an understanding of the 7 Steps of Accreditation

What is the Public Health Accreditation Board?

O The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the continuous quality improvement of Tribal, state, local, and territorial public health departments

O Chartered in 2007, launched in 2011O www.phaboard.org

What is Health Department Accreditation?

O Not unlike hospitals, academic institutions

O The measurement of health department performance against a set of nationally recognized, practice-focused and evidenced-based standards.

O National public health department accreditation has been developed because of the desire to improve service, value, and accountability to stakeholders.

Goal of AccreditationO The goal of the national public health

department accreditation program is to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of Tribal, state, local, and territorial public health departments.

Purpose of AccreditationO Accreditation demonstrates the

capacity of the public health department to deliver the three core functions and the ten essential services of public health.

Benefits of Accreditation

O Increases the agency’s credibility to its constituents

O Demonstrates accountability to taxpayers, funding sources, and elected officials

O Potentially increases access to resources that support quality improvement, address infrastructure gaps, and support new programs and process

O Forces the department to always look for places to improve

Seven Steps of Accreditation

1. Pre-Application2. Application3. Document Selection and

Submission4. Site Visit5. Accreditation Decision6. Reports7. Reaccreditation

Pre-ApplicationO Prepares for accreditationO Assess Readiness for ApplicationO Health director and accreditation

coordinator must complete Orientation (online)

O Submit Letter of Intent

ApplicationO Health department submits application

and pays feeO Completes Accreditation Coordinator

TrainingO Application requires letter of support

from appointing authority and three pre-requisites:

1. Community Health Needs Assessment2. Community Health Improvement Plan3. Department Strategic plan

Document Selection and Submission

O Based on PHAB’s Standards and Measures, the health department selects documentation and uploads it to PHAB

O Standards and Measures based on 10 Essential Services of Public Health, plus administration capacity and governing entity relationship – 12 Domains

12 Domains of PHAB Standards and Measures

Site VisitO Site visits will be conducted by a peer

team of three to four PHAB-trained site visitors

O The visit serves several purposes: O Verify the accuracy of documentation

submitted by the health departmentO Seek answers to questions regarding

conformity with the standards and measuresO Provide opportunity for discussion and

further explanation.

O Last 2-3 days

Accreditation DecisionO Following site visit, PHAB team of

reviewers will submit a report to PHAB Accreditation Committee

O Two Possibilities:O Accredited O Not Accredited

ReportsO Annual reportsO Health department submits annual

reports describing how agency has addressed areas identified by PHAB as priority areas for improvement

O Reports state that the department continues to be in conformity with standards and measures

ReaccreditationO Accreditation lasts 5 yearsO Submit new applicationO Department must participate in the

entire accreditation process again

Questions?

Melissa ToumaAccreditation Coordinator

Connecticut Department of Public Health

Melissa.touma@ct.gov