Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB)
Why establish the Public Health Accreditation Board? In short, accountability and quality improvement. While not new concepts, recent attention has focused on the importance of making health departments accountable for their work. Efforts include:
- The 2003 release of The Future of the Public’s Health by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), which called for the establishment of a national Steering Committee to examine the benefits of accrediting governmental public health departments.
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) strategic development process, known as the CDC Futures Initiative, which identified accreditation as a key strategy for strengthening the public health infrastructure.
- The 2004 gathering, convened by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, of public health stakeholders to determine whether a voluntary national accreditation program for state and local public health departments should be explored further. The consensus was to proceed, and the Exploring Accreditation project was launched thereafter.
- Launching several statewide accreditation or related initiatives for state and local health departments.
The Exploring Accreditation Project: Developing a voluntary national program for accrediting state and local public health departments.
With funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Exploring Accreditation project began in August 2005 with a goal to determine the feasibility and desirability of implementing a voluntary national accreditation program.
The project was established by a planning committee of executive directors from the American Public Health Association (APHA), Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH).
The directors provided executive oversight and established a 25-member steering committee in September 2005 with representatives from public health practice organizations at the local, state, and federal levels to lead the exploration process. The guiding philosophy of the steering committee was to ‘leave no stone unturned’ as they considered all aspects of a voluntary national accreditation program. Steering committee deliberations decisions were informed by the work of four workgroups in the areas of governance and implementation, finance and incentives, research and evaluation, and standards development.
The workgroups were composed of public health practitioners from all three levels of government, the private sector, and the academic community. Throughout the project, the workgroups produced reports that included consensus recommendations, alternative solutions, and explanations behind each recommendation–-including potential drawbacks. Subject matter experts were also consulted for various issues.
In April 2006, the steering committee met to consider the findings of the previous months and propose a model for a national program. The committee’s proposed model was distributed for public comment from May 2006 through July 2006. Comments were solicited through:
- Feedback forms distributed at public presentations and events;
- Conference calls;
- E-mail and an online survey submitted on the project Web site;
- A satellite broadcast; and
- An opinion survey sent to state, territorial, and local health officials
Based on significant public feedback and a consensus within the group, the steering committee revised its proposed model in August 2006 to recommend that a voluntary national accreditation program be implemented, and that the planning committee serve as the board of incorporators (BOI) to oversee the initial implementation of the new organization and national program.
The BOI began carrying out the charge to establish a national accreditation program in October 2006. Program implementation began in May 2007 when the Public Health Accreditation Board was incorporated.
