ACCREDITATION
 

Collaboration with partners around the country provides information and resources (human, financial and technical) to support the Florida Department of Health's (DOH) performance improvement initiatives. These partnerships allow us to leverage our resources and generate new learning opportunities. In addition, these relationships have yielded new sources of funding for the department in support of its mission. DOH staff service on national committees and boards helps us to share best public health practices at the national, state, and local level. (Reference:10 Essential Public Health Services and National Voluntary Public Health Accreditation)

Current Partnerships
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
The mission of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is, "to improve the health and health care of all Americans." RWJF awarded a three-year, $450,000 grant to the DOH (Office of Performance Improvement) to participate in a sixteen-state Multi-State Learning Collaborative (see below), an initiative designed to build quality improvement capacity within state and local health departments.

National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI)
NNPHI was founded in June 2001, to foster the development of Public Health Institutes and strengthen the public health infrastructure in the United States. Its mission is, "to promote multi-sector activities resulting in measurable improvements of public health structures, systems, and outcomes." NNPHI also supports the Multi-State Learning Collaborative (see below), along with RWJF.

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
ASTHO is the national organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia, as well as the 120,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to assuring excellence in state-based public health practice.

National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
NACCHO is a national organization that supports the efforts of local health departments by promoting national policies, developing resources and programs, seeking health equity, and supporting effective local public health practice and systems. NACCHO's Model Practice Database is an online, searchable collection of effective programs and practices across public health areas that have been implemented with good results.

Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB)
Incorporated in 2007, PHAB was created to manage and promote the National Voluntary Public Health Accreditation program, scheduled for launch nationwide in 2011. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide support for the program. PHAB is working to promote and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of all public health departments in the U.S. through accreditation. PHAB's vision is a high-performing governmental public health system that will make us a healthier nation. Despite public health's critical role, there has not been a national accreditation program to ensure public health departments' quality of service - until now. Accreditation is based on standards that state and local health departments can put into practice to ensure they are providing the best services possible to keep their communities safe and healthy. Accreditation will drive public health departments to continuously improve their services and performance.

Multi-State Learning Collaborative (MLC)
The MLC is a collection of sixteen states and national partners working together to improve public health services and the health of communities through performance improvement efforts and to enhance accreditation standards in state and local public health departments. MLC is managed by the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) and the Public Health Leadership Society, and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Florida has participated in the collaborative since November 2006.

"Lead States in Public Health Quality Improvement" is the third phase of the MLC. The program, which builds off the momentum of two previous MLC initiatives, brings state and local health departments together with other stakeholders including public health institutes, health care providers and universities to improve public health services and the health of their community by implementing quality improvement practices.

Each of the 16 participating states has been awarded a three-year grant of up to $150,000 per year to implement projects that will help address specific health outcomes like decreasing the incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases or reducing the burden of illness due to tobacco or alcohol usage. Additionally, states will address how they deliver public health services such as how they ensure customer satisfaction with services or collect and use health data.

The collaborative provides a valuable opportunity for peer states to learn from, and teach, each other. Successes and lessons learned shared by participating states will significantly contribute to the increasing work focused on accountability, performance in public health, quality improvement, and national accreditation. Check out NNPHI's eCatalog to explore the work of the MLC states. 

Florida's current MLC initiatives:

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Page Revised 11/2010