Accreditation for local health departments
The Fairbanks School of Public Health offers local health departments technical assistance in their journey to becoming nationally accredited.
Accreditation success story
Though it ranks as the 15th-smallest county in Indiana, Rush County accomplished something big: Its health department became the first in Indiana to achieve national accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board.
The Fairbanks School of Public Health was extremely helpful to us in countless ways.
Dr. Dorothy Boersma, Former Rush County Health Officer
Public Health Accreditation Board
Local health departments are eligible for accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). Accreditation will assist local health departments in building on quality improvement, becoming more efficient and will provide a means to be recognized for achieving high standards in public health as accreditation process is peer reviewed. The PHAB offers many resources and an array of materials to achieving accreditation.
Benefits of accreditation
According to the Public Health Accreditation Board the benefits of accreditation include:
- Better identify strengths and weaknesses of the health department
- Document capacity of the health department to deliver the core functions and 10 essential public health services
- Stimulate transparency
- Improve management processes used by the health department
- Stimulate quality improvement and performance management
- Improve accountability to community, stakeholders, and policy makers
- Improve communication with the governing entity/board of health
- Improve competitiveness for funding