Clermont County Public Health has achieved national accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB).
The accreditation program works to improve the quality and performance of the nation’s public health departments.
The national accreditation program is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
To become accredited, an agency must show that they meet or exceed a set of standards, by going through a self-assessment, and a peer review.
“This has been a long process that we began in 2011, but our staff has worked very hard to finally achieve our goal,” said Health Commissioner Julianne Nesbit.
Nesbit continued, saying, “The process was very rigorous, and required us to submit more than 470 documents to be reviewed.”
During the process, Clermont County Public Health conducted a Community Health Assessment and created a Community Health Improvement Plan.
CCPH also created a strategic plan to help identify the biggest health threats to the community and also to help guide the direction of the agency in the future.
The Ohio Department of Health has required all 117 local health departments in Ohio be accredited by 2020.
With this announcement, Clermont County Public Health becomes only the 18th local health department in Ohio to earn the distinction.
“Throughout the process we were able to analyze our programs and services and improve in many areas, which will benefit the citizens of Clermont County,” said Nesbit.
Nesbit added, “Accreditation is an on-going process, and once the distinction is earned, it lasts for five years, then the health department will need to re-apply and begin the process again.