The Barren River District Health Department is proud to announce that it has achieved national accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). Barren River is one of a select group of six accredited health departments in Kentucky and 50 across the nation to be granted accreditation through PHAB, the independent organization that administers the national public health accreditation program.
Logan County has a branch of the Barren River District Health Department, located near the formerLogan County Hospital on Franklin Street.
To achieve accreditation status, the Health Department has undergone a rigorous, multi-faceted, peer-reviewed assessment process. It had to assure that it is providing the 10 Essential Public Health Services, and demonstrate that the agency supports efforts for quality improvement.
“I could not be more proud of our governing Board of Health and our staff for their vision and strong work ethic during the two (2) years of prep work for the site visit we had on January 15-16, 2014. The three PHAB site visitors agreed at the end of their visit that Barren River was a ‘high functioning health department,” said Public Health Director Dennis Chaney.
The national accreditation program works to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of the nation’s state, local, tribal and territorial public health departments. The program, jointly supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, sets standards that the nation’s more than 3,000 governmental public health departments can use to continuously improve the quality of their services and performance.
“Achieving national accreditation provides a high degree of assurance to the communities we serve that we consistently strive to be a great steward of the tax dollars afforded Barren River to carry out progressive public health practice,” said Chaney.
The national accreditation program was created collaboratively over a 10-year period by hundreds of public health practitioners. Since the program’s launch in September 2011, more than 300 health departments have applied to PHAB for accreditation, and hundreds of public health practitioners from across the nation have been trained to serve as peer site visitors for the program.
“Achieving accreditation indicates that Barren River District Health Department is dedicated to improving and protecting the health of the community by striving to continuously improve the quality of the services it delivers,” said PHAB Board of Directors Chair Leslie Beitsch, MD, JD. “Accreditation also promotes consistency in meeting standards. With an ever-increasing number of health departments now apply for and becoming accredited, you will be able to expect to receive the same quality of public health services wherever you go in the United States.”
The Barren River District Health Department serves the residents and visitors of Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Simpson and Warren Counties of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It offers community assessment and surveillance, public health policy development, and the assurance of the ten essential public health services in the community. Learn more by visiting www.barrenriverhealth.org.
The Public Health Accreditation Board, established in 2007, was created to serve as the national public health accrediting body, and is jointly funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The development of national public health accreditation has involved, and is supported by, public health leaders and practitioners from the national, tribal, state, and local levels. Learn more about PHAB or sign up for the PHAB e-newsletter by visitingwww.phaboard.org.