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NACCHO's Accreditation Preparation & Quality Improvement E-Newsletter 
December 2011
Vol. 30
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Welcome to the latest edition of accreditNATION, NACCHO's periodic Accreditation Preparation & Quality Improvement E-Newsletter.

New resources are now available from NACCHO to assist local health departments with their accreditation preparation! The new resources in this issue, along with all other accreditation preparation resources, can be found on NACCHO's newly redesigned accreditation website at www.naccho.org/accreditation. NACCHO is continuously working to develop new resources to assist local health departments in preparing for accreditation, so keep checking our website and look out for future issues of accreditNATION!

 
Topics in this issue include:  

 

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Article1Expert Speakers Available for your Accreditation Meeting 

NACCHO is pleased to announce the launch of the Speakers Bureau of Accreditation Champions! This group of experienced speakers will be available to speak at meetings and conferences beginning February 1, 2012. By providing their unique perspectives and stories around preparing for accreditation, these speakers will give local health departments a peer perspective on the process and will serve as advocates for local health department participation in PHAB's voluntary national accreditation program.


Join the Speakers Bureau
Are you interested in sharing your accreditation preparation experiences and stories with other local health departments? Please consider joining the Speakers Bureau-an application form is now available here. Please note that in order to be considered for the first cohort of speakers, you must complete your application by Friday, December 23.

Request a Speaker
Are you planning a meeting, conference, or webinar about accreditation for local health departments? Hearing from a peer can build support for accreditation in local health departments and provide a unique perspective on the process. If you would like to request a speaker, please contact Miriam Sznycer-Taub at [email protected].
Article2Accreditation Preparation Training Now Available 

Following the launch of the Public Health Accreditation Board's (PHAB's) accreditation program, NACCHO's Accreditation Preparation and Quality Improvement team is pleased to announce the availability of new trainings designed to assist local health departments (LHDs) in their accreditation preparation efforts. NACCHO staff are available to offer these in-person trainings, upon request, at SACCHO's and other state and national level meetings.

 
NACCHO will work with meeting organizers to determine content based on time allotted and participant needs. NACCHO may also administer a needs assessment to the participants to tailor content based on general accreditation preparation readiness.Please note that the needs assessment is not required and will only be administered if requested by the meeting organizer. In consultation with the meeting organizer, NACCHO will develop the training content from any combination of the following 8 training topics:

  • Community Health Assessments
  • Community Health Improvement Plans
  • Agency Strategic Plan
  • Forming an Accreditation Preparation Team
  • Selecting and Organizing Documentation
  • Engaging the Local Governing Entity
  • Quality Improvement 101
  • Quality Improvement 201

Please note that trainings are meant to provide an overview of multiple topics of interest rather that serve as an in-depth training on any single topic. For a more detailed description of what will be covered in each module, please visit www.naccho.org/modules. NACCHO staff will be available to conduct trainings starting late January 2012. Practitioners from NACCHO's Speakers Bureau of Accreditation Champions may also be available to present during trainings, upon request. To schedule a training, please contact Pooja Verma at  [email protected].  

Article3Performance Improvement Technical Assistance Teleconference Series

The fourth call in NACCHO's new teleconference series on LHD performance improvement (PI) will take place on Thursday, December 8th at 2:00PM ET. Due to participant interest, the call will now also have a webinar component. The topic of this call will be accreditation preparation tips. Some of the topics we will address on this call include:

  • Forming an Accreditation Team
  • Engaging Staff
  • Organizing Documentation

There will be ample time for you to share your experiences or ask questions around these, or other accreditation preparation topics, so please bring your stories and questions!

 

These webinars are designed to respond to timely, common technical assistance (TA) requests related to accreditation, community health assessment (CHA) and improvement planning processes, Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) and more!

           

To register for this call, click here. Webinars will take place monthly and will be developed based on YOUR input. To submit a question for the January call, e-mail [email protected] or visit  www.naccho.org/PITeleconference for more information, recordings, and follow-up information.  

 

Article4CHA/CHIP Resource Center 

NACCHO is pleased to announce the launch of the initial version of the Resource Center for Community Health Assessments (CHAs) and Community Health Improvement Plans (CHIPs). This Resource Center is an online and publicly accessible venue that contains the following to assist local health departments and their partners in planning, conducting and completing CHAs and CHIPs:

  • Practical, customizable tools;
  • Key resources;
  • Example CHAs and CHIPs; and
  • Webinar trainings.

 

The CHA/CHIP Resource Center has been populated with a number of resources and examples, and will be updated regularly. By late 2012, it will contain additional examples of CHAs and CHIPs for accreditation preparation from NACCHO's current demonstration project, stories from the field, and more.

 

The webinar archive below is an example of the resources available at this site.

 

Archived Webinar on Using the Health Indicators Warehouse in Community Health Assessment 

This 90 minute webinar, which aired on November 9, 2011, includes information on ways that Healthy People 2020 can support community health assessment and community health improvement processes, navigating the Health Indicators Warehouse website, accessing local-level indicators for a specific community, and using Healthy People 2020 and the Health Indicators Warehouse with partners to begin selecting indicators.

 

To access the CHA/CHIP Resource Center, visit www.naccho.org/chachipgeneral.

Article5ASTHO Profile Report Provides Comprehensive Look at State Public Health 

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If you want a better understanding of the governmental public health enterprise and the contributions state and territorial health agencies make to public health, therecently released
ASTHO Profile of State Public Health, Volume Two is your best resource. This publication, produced by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), gives critical insight into how governmental public health is structured and organized at the state and territorial level and is an unparalleled data source on state and territorial health agency responsibilities, resources, planning and quality improvement activities, and information exchange methods. It is an integral resource for preparing for health agency accreditation. For more information, contact Alison Mendoza at [email protected].

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