Accreditation
What is Public Health Department Accreditation?
Accreditation is a process that evaluates health departments to ensure they meet national standards for quality and performance determined by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). These standards are based upon the 10 Essential Public Health Services (image below).
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The Bullitt County Health Department received its accreditation status in 2016 and is one of only around 450 accredited health departments nationwide (there are over 3,000 total).
What are the Benefits of Accreditation?
Quality Improvement - Accreditation helps BCHD improve our services, ensuring better programs and policies for Bullitt County.
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Workforce Development - It supports ongoing training and education for our staff so we can better serve our community.
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Emergency Preparedness - Accredited health departments are better prepared to respond to disasters, disease outbreaks, and other public health emergencies.
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Accountability and Transparency - Accreditation ensures that BCHD operates openly and responsibly, building public trust.
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Partnerships - It encourages stronger collaboration with local organizations, businesses, and community groups.
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Community Health - By following national standards, BCHD can provide better programs and resources to keep our county healthy.
For more information, visit www.phaboard.org
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Community Health Assessment & Community Health Improvement Plan (CHA/CHIP)
A community health assessment (CHA) gives organizations comprehensive information about the community’s current health status, needs, and issues. This information can help develop a community health improvement plan by justifying how and where resources should be allocated to best meet community needs.
Benefits include:
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Improved organizational and community coordination and collaboration
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Increased knowledge about public health and the interconnectedness of activities
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Strengthened partnerships within state and local public health systems
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Identified strengths and weaknesses to address in quality improvement efforts
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Baselines on performance to use in preparing for accreditation
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Benchmarks for public health practice improvements
A community health improvement plan (CHIP) is a long-term, systematic effort to address public health problems based on the results of community health assessment activities and the community health improvement process. A plan is typically updated every three to five years.