The Harford County Health Department received formal notification recently that it has achieved national accreditation status from the Public Health Accreditation Board, or PHAB.
The Harford Health Department became one of only four health jurisdictions in Maryland to achieve national accreditation status through PHAB, joining Frederick, Worcester and Allegany counties. Harford officials were notified March 4.
"Our Health Department is honored to be joining the elite cohort of nationally accredited public health departments," Harford County Health Officer Susan Kelly said in a statement. "We are proud to be recognized for our commitment to quality and performance while delivering critical public health services to our community. Likewise, this experience has been tremendously constructive and informational whereby improving the ways we protect and promote the health of the people we serve is the very essence of our existence and this achievement."
To receive accreditation, a health department must undergo a rigorous, multi-faceted, peer reviewed assessment process in order to ensure it meets or exceeds specific standards and measures, the HCHD officials said in a news release.
In its application submission, documenting conformance with 97 performance measures across twelve domains of public health practice, the HCHD drew upon its experience and active engagement in a wide array of local health initiatives. Included were the agency's Community Health Assessment Process, Community Health Improvement Plan, the Department's Strategic Planning Process and Performance Management System Plan and its Local Health Improvement Coalition activities, all of which were closely linked to partnerships with colleagues throughout Harford County.
After almost three years since the department first filed its intention to apply for accreditation and initiated its document preparation, PHAB conducted its formal site evaluation on January 15-16, during which health department staff met with PHAB representatives to review critical aspects of documentation, operations and performance, while credentialing specialists also convened with key stakeholders in the community.
"This recognition was earned by every staff member of Harford County Health Department," Deputy Health Officer Russell Moy, HCHD's accreditation coordinator, said. "Our accreditation certainly is a reflection on the quality and contributions of all our personnel, as well as their unrelenting dedication to their work and to the importance of public health."
PHAB is the non-profit organization that administers the national public health accreditation program, which aims to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of health departments, nationwide.
Jointly funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the organization was created to serve as the national public health accrediting body. The development of national public health department accreditation has involved, and is supported by, public health leaders and practitioners from the national, tribal, state, local, and territorial levels.
Counting the Harford Health Department, 67 public health departments are accredited by PHAB among more than 3,000 eligible state, local and territorial public health agencies throughout the country.
To learn more about PHAB visit http://www.phaboard.org or the Harford Health Department's website at http://www.harfordcountyhealth.com.