Eleven Health Departments Awarded Accreditation or Reaccreditation Status by the Public Health Accreditation Board


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“Accreditation is a tremendous milestone for our Tribal Health Center,” said Carrie Sampson-Samuels. “…after decades of addressing our unique health disparities with minimal funding and resources, we have strengthened our ability to protect and support our community’s health.”

The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) today announced the names of eleven public health departments that have achieved accreditation or reaccreditation status, after completion of a systematic review process against national standards. These health departments have successfully demonstrated a commitment to a focus on accountability, equity and performance as they work to improve the health of their communities.

PHAB, the nongovernmental, nonprofit organization that administers the national accrediting program, works to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing and transforming the quality and performance of governmental public health departments in the United States and abroad.

“Now, more than ever, public health departments are relied upon to respond to emergencies like COVID-19 and extreme weather events, while at the same time preparing for flu season, providing timely and accurate data and information and enforcing regulations to keep people safe,” said Paul Kuehnert, President and CEO of PHAB. “We are proud of these health departments and the hundreds of others that are working tirelessly to provide critical services to their communities and have that work validated through a process as rigorous as ours.”

Serving the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Eastern Oregon, Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center becomes the fourth Tribal Health Department to achieve national accreditation through PHAB. “Accreditation is a tremendous milestone for our Tribal Health Center,” said Carrie Sampson-Samuels, Community Wellness Director. “We have demonstrated that after decades of addressing our unique health disparities with minimal funding and resources, we have strengthened our ability to protect and support our community’s health. Public health accreditation is an exercise of our inherent sovereignty as a tribal nation and we appreciate the support and consultation that PHAB has provided tribes to achieve this goal.”

In Oklahoma, Colonel Lance Frye, MD, State Commissioner of Health reflected on the importance of the state health department’s journey to become reaccredited. “I’m proud of the Department’s commitment to accountability and our focus on continuous performance and quality improvement. As we work to serve the nearly 4 million residents of Oklahoma, meeting national standards that demonstrate our commitment to them and our community, just makes good sense.”

PHAB, the nonprofit organization that administers the national public health accreditation program, aims to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing and transforming the quality and performance of governmental public health agencies in the U.S. and abroad. Launched in 2011 with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, PHAB’s accreditation program has become the national standard for public health in the United States.

National initial accreditation was awarded September 1, 2020 to:

  • Denton County Public Health, Denton, TX
  • Ontario County Public Health, Canandaigua, NY
  • Schuyler County Public Health, Watkins Glen, NY
  • Seneca County Health Department, Waterloo, NY
  • Steuben County Public Health, Bath, NY
  • Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency, Public Health Branch, Visalia, CA
  • Wayne County Public Health, Lyons, NY
  • Yates County Public Health, Penn Yan, NY
  • Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center, Pendleton, OR

National reaccreditation was awarded March 17, 2020 to:

  • Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, FL
  • Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma City, FL

For more information, contact Jessica Solomon Fisher at jfisher@phaboard.org. Learn more about PHAB and accreditation at http://www.phaboard.org. Be in the know: subscribe to PHAB’s e-newsletter.

About the Public Health Accreditation Board

The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) was created to serve as the national public health accrediting body and is funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The development of national public health accreditation has involved, and is supported by, public health leaders and practitioners from the national, state, local, Tribal, and territorial levels.

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