What is Public Health Accreditation?
According to the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), accreditation is the measurement of a health department's performance against a set of nationally recognized and evidence-based standards, the issuance of recognition of achievement by a nationally recognized entity, and the continual development, revision, and distribution of public health standards.
The goal of the voluntary accreditation program is to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of Tribal, state, local, and territorial public health departments. To successfully achieve accreditation, a health department must complete a series of processes and steps described in detail on the PHAB website.
- 8 Accredited Health Departments:
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (Reaccredited 08/2022)
- Denver Department of Public Health and Environment (Accredited 3/21/2017)
- El Paso County Public Health (Reaccredited 11/2020)
- Jefferson County Public Health (Accredited 3/21/2019)
- Mesa County Public Health (Accredited 3/8/2016)
- Pueblo City-County Health (Reaccredited 08/2023)
- Weld County Public Health (Reaccredited 08/2022)
Colorado Accreditation Coordinator & Quality Improvement Community of Practice
The original Accreditation Coordinator’s Network was expanded in 2019 to include accreditation coordinators AND those interested in quality improvement, performance management, strategic planning, change management, project management, innovation, workforce development, assessment/planning, etc. The group uses peer sharing and learning to support accreditation and continuous quality improvement efforts. Select the following link for a listing of current contacts in Colorado. For more information or to join the network, please contact the Office of Strategy, Performance, and Innovation (OSPI) at cdphe_ospi@state.co.us.
- Public Health Accreditation: Why Accreditation?
- PHAB Standards & Measures (Initial Accreditation version 1.5)
- PHAB Standards & Measures (Initial Accreditation version 2022 - effective June 2022)
- PHAB Standards & Measures (Reaccreditation version 2022)
- PHAB online orientation (4 modules/chapters)
- Public Health Accreditation: Intro to PHAB (Overview)
- Accreditation Introduction: 9-minute video from Michigan (best when viewed in Internet Explorer)
Accreditation Resources:
Introduction to Public Health Accreditation (Michigan State)
Best when viewed in Internet Explorer). This illustrated 9-minute video gives an excellent introduction to public health accreditation and can be used to educate current staff and new employees.
12 Domains to PHABulous
The 12-part, short video series, provides resources for those wanting to better understand the PHAB accreditation standards.
Tribal Public Health Accreditation and Update
The one-hour webinar gives an overview of national accreditation with particular insight into tribal health departments as well as local and state health departments.
Please contact cdphe.edplanningandpartnerships@state.co.us with additional training recommendations.