The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) and The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) have partnered in a national effort to improve public health practice in Indian Country. PHAB is developing a national voluntary public health accreditation program for state, territorial, tribal, and local health departments.
PHAB was formed as the non-profit entity to implement and oversee national public health department accreditation, and program development began in May 2007 with the incorporation of PHAB. The accreditation process was developed by the PHAB Assessment Process Workgroup, which included state, tribal, and local public health professionals, representatives from state-based accreditation programs, representatives from other national accreditation programs, and other technical experts. The standards and measures were the products of months of development by the PHAB Standards Development Workgroup, which included state and local public health professionals, national and federal public health experts, public health researchers, and other technical experts. The initial standards and measures were subject to an “alpha” field test with a small group of local and state health agencies, resulting in multiple revisions.
The goal of the accreditation program is to improve and protect the health of the Tribes by advancing the quality of public health services. Through its work with NIHB, PHAB understands that enhancing public health in Indian Country means addressing a complex set of services that are often provided by a diverse group of partners and stakeholders. Tribal leaders and health officials are giving valuable input into the creation of the accreditation standards and the process of becoming accredited, and therefore are taking an active role in ensuring that Native communities are safe, healthy places to live.
The most recent board meeting was held December 6-8, 2011 in Miami, Florida. PHAB did a web-based demonstration of the e-PHAB database and showed how the system will track the accreditation process and current status of applications for each applicant.
Paul R. Allis, B.S.W, M. Ed
Director of Public Health
Blake Harper, MPH
Public Health Project Coordinator
Carolyn Hornbuckle, J.D.
Public Health Project Coordinator