Allen County Public Health has been awarded $10,600 to support its progress in meeting the requirements of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), the first and only voluntary national accreditation program for public health departments.   Allen County Public Health is one of 10 local health departments from 10 states to receive this funding through the Accreditation Support Initiative (ASI). A total of 101 local health departments of all sizes and types, ranging from rural to urban applied for funding.   Funding for this project is through the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).  This association represents the nation’s 2,800 local governmental health departments.

“Quality improvement is one of the most important investments a local health department can make – always seeking ways to do things better, more efficiently, with just the right amount of resources, and with a greater impact,” said NACCHO Executive Director Robert M. Pestronk. “As a participant in this initiative, Allen County Public Health is taking a big step to ensure better health for the people of Allen County.

Allen County Public Health received funding under the general category of Workforce Development. The department will identify the common knowledge, skills and abilities for all employees to possess.  They will then work with the Ohio State University’s Center for Public Health Practice to develop and put into place a plan that will ensure that staff obtain the training needed to develop and enhance these characteristics.

“We are grateful to have received the Accreditation Support Initiative funding from the CDC and NACCHO,” said Kathy Luhn, Allen County Health Commissioner.  “I believe the funds will help us improve our performance, achieve our strategic goals, and continue making progress to build better health outcomes for the people in our community.”

More information, including a full list of selected local health departments and descriptions of the work they have been funded to complete, can be found at www.naccho.org/asi.