Public Health Center Maintains National Accreditation

Clay County Public Health Center is proud to announce it has successfully completed a review process to maintain national accreditation status through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). PHAB’s accreditation program sets standards against which the nation’s governmental public health departments can continuously improve the quality of their services and performance. In maintaining its accreditation status for another five years, Clay County Public Health Center has demonstrated that it meets PHAB’s quality standards and measures and has the capacity to continue to evolve, improve, and advance.

“We are very excited to once again be recognized by PHAB for achieving national standards that foster effectiveness and promote continuous quality improvement,” said Director of Public Health Gary E. Zaborac. “We hope the accomplishment of reaccreditation will reassure our community, our partner organizations, and our elected officials that the services we provide are responsive to the needs of our community. By continuing to improve our services and performance, we ensure we are meeting the public health needs of those we serve as effectively as possible.”

Clay County Public Health Center initially achieved national accreditation status through PHAB in 2015 after undergoing a rigorous, multi-faceted, peer-reviewed assessment process to ensure it met a set of quality standards and measures. Today’s announcement goes a step further by demonstrating that Clay County Public Health has the capacity to become increasingly effective at improving the health of Clay County community members.

“We are extremely pleased to be at the point in the accreditation program where the Clay County Public Health Center, along with many others, are successfully maintaining their five-year accreditation status through PHAB,” said PHAB President and CEO Paul Kuehnert, DNP, RN, FAAN. “In so doing, these health departments are assuring their communities that the value of accreditation is long-term -- not a one-time recognition -- and that continual improvement is the hallmark of a 21st century organization.”

Often called the “backbone” of the public health system, public health departments are on the front lines of communities’ efforts to protect and promote health and prevent disease and injury. PHAB-accredited health departments demonstrate great leadership by placing their work for peer review, with the goal of using the feedback obtained during the process to improve the services they provide to their communities.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story