Joy Harris, Accreditation Coordinator

BackgroundInfluence the development of the national system.Outside view of department readiness.Readiness to assist local public health

departments to prepare for accreditation.Much work had been completed previously in a

self assessment of the department’s ability to meet the Iowa Public Health Standards.

Evidence collection completed in January – March.

Request for additional information July 7, 2010.Site visit July 19-21 2010.

PlanningCore TeamDivision TeamsBeta Test TeamSubject Matter ExpertsLeadership “blessing”

ProcessAccess controlled shared drive Folders:

Domain Standard

Measure Measure

5 pieces of evidence…or less!Screen shots of website/arrowsHighlightingExplanationsUpload when you know for sure!

Site VisitConversation basedThe site visitors had done their homework!Explanation of the public health system and

Iowa’s populationState Board of Health and open meeting lawIDPH co-workers – getting the word out!

Lessons LearnedPoint out to the site visitor exactly where you want

them to look.Don’t give too much information.Watch that you have evidence dated!Really look at meeting minutes, your website, your

policies, your job descriptions – is all the information a site visitor would need there?

Sometimes the evidence is where you don’t expect it to be.

Sometimes you have to say no.Organization, organization, organization

Coconino County Health DepartmentCoconino County Health Department(Northern Arizona)(Northern Arizona)

BACKGROUNDBACKGROUNDOur Health Department’s Chief Health Officer serves on the PHAB Standards Our Health Department’s Chief Health Officer serves on the PHAB Standards

Development Workgroup and saw the value of moving our agency Development Workgroup and saw the value of moving our agency to a higher level of service provision. to a higher level of service provision.

Our application was submitted in summer 2009 Our application was submitted in summer 2009 and a self-assessment was conducted late last winter. and a self-assessment was conducted late last winter.

PLANNINGPLANNING

• Accreditation Coordinator engaged Senior Managers at biweekly Senior Management Team Meetings

• Domains were discussed amidst the entire Senior Management Team, because we have five Service Units which cross over into multiple Domains

• Initiated additional weekly meetings for several months, to focus solely upon improving our self-assessment documentation

PROCESSPROCESS• Copied and pasted from the online self-

assessment tool to create an “overview” document, to guide us in collecting documentation - this was duplicated on our shared drive

• Folders for each Domain and Measure were also created

SITE VISITSITE VISIT

August 11th-12th, 2010

LESSONS LEARNEDLESSONS LEARNED

• Start EARLY!! • Organization and labeling are extremely

important • Provide context of Domains when asking for

documentation of specific Measures• Be mindful of using examples that are “current”

and span the breadth of your agency – it’s about telling your story!

Public Health Public Health Accreditation BoardAccreditation Board

Miami-Dade County Health DepartmentBeta Site, 2010

BackgroundBackgroundAccreditation – considered logical step as part of

our Continuous Improvement Tracked Accreditation AvailabilityLengthy discussion with Senior LeadershipSubmitted Application Mid to late 2009Received notification in OctoberAttended first meeting in Washington DC in

November

PlanningPlanningReviewed Domains and made recommendations

of “Domain Champions”Allowed Senior Leadership to accept or make

their own recommendationsSenior Leaders then organized their teams within

their programs to tackle their corresponding standards and measures

Multiple planning meetings with Senior Leaders and critical staff

ProcessProcessMultiple resources available – Websites, portals, etc.Modified Standards and Measures Document as well

as Interpretation Guide to breakdown responsibilitiesDeveloped Shared Folders on a Common Server and

created Instruction (i.e. Naming convention to followRecommended one on one meetings with Champion

to assist, provide guidance, etc.State Office visited our Health Department and

provided guidance (more advanced in process)Self Assessment tool is just one component

Site VisitSite VisitThree day visit – Team of FourTeam composed of Public Health Officials from

other Health Departments nationallyMultiple observers (NACCHO, CDC, PHAB, NORC)3 days is not enough to go through all the

domainsSite Team was supportive and friendly, yet

followed rules.Confirmed we are on the right track, still room to

be more prepared

Lessons LearnedLessons LearnedUse your time wiselyReview documents before being submitted

◦ Important to date everything!◦ Important to sign everything!◦ Stick to official documents when possible

At first, feels overwhelming – it really isn’tApply only if you are able to have evidence for

everythingUse the State Health Office100% Support and Engagement is keyInvolve staff