The Path to Accreditation Valerie L. Webb, MPH vwebb@cookcountyhhs.org September 28, 2015 Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) Geographic/Political 700 sq miles (3x area of Chicago) 125 municipalities 30 townships unincorporated areas 4 CCDPH Districts 4 other state certified LHDs Multiple Organizations/Systems Cook County Health & Hospitals System 23 acute care hospitals >130 school districts; >700 schools 18,000 physicians 25,000 First Responders Many social/faith/service agencies 1
Suburban Cook County, IL Population Total population for basic district: 2,252,238 19% Hispanic, 57% White, 16% Black; 7% Asian-Pac Is One in four residents live at or below 200% FPL (500,000 ) John H Stroger Hospital of CC Provident Hospital of CC Oak Forest Health Center R. Rothstein CORE Center Cermak Health Services of CC Ambulatory and Community Health clinics Cook County Department of Public Health 2
What is Public Health Accreditation? The measurement of a health department s performance against a set of nationally recognized, practice-focused and evidencedbased standards. The issuance of recognition of achievement of accreditation within a specified time frame by a nationally recognized entity. 3
7 Steps of PHAB Accreditation 7. Reaccreditation (March, 2019) 6. Reports (due annually in March) 5. Accreditation Decision (March, 2014) 4. Site Visit (January, 2014) 3. Documentation Selection & Submission (Jan 2012-Jun 2013) 2. Application (May, 2012) 1. Pre-application (Aug,2011) Current Accreditation Activity in Illinois 96 Local Health Departments 8 Accredited including IDPH 8 At some point in the process 4
Accreditation Staffing 225 FTE 12 teams of 5 people each = 70 12 Executive Team Domain Leaders 3 COOs and 1 Accreditation Coordinator Role of Domain Leader Review Standards & Measures Work with team to identify documentation that shows performance Identify areas not meeting the standard as areas for improvement 5
Domain Teams Identify & invite 3-4 staff Choose from different service units and levels including managerial and line staff Role of team: Active surveillance of documents Choosing and preparing documents for uploading to SharePoint What is your role in Accreditation? Participate in creation, revision, and collection of documents. Be knowledgeable about the function of CCDPH in achieving the standards identified in the 12 domains. Serve as content experts at the site visit. Inform your clients and community about the Accreditation Process. Be Aware, Get Prepared, Take Action! 6
Benefits of the Accreditation Process Identifies success and opportunities for improvement Platform for quality improvement Means for accountability Energizes the staff Increases the understanding of public health Improves communication with governing entities Initiates new partnerships Staff Comments Multi-disciplinary teams break down agency silos and inform us about the work of the agency. Document Reviewer commented: Great to learn and see what is going on in the different aspects of public health and at the agency. 7
Staff comments A path of continuous quality improvement with a formal Quality Improvement Plan. A CCDPH staff commented: Public health accreditation brings the structure to help us measure our progress and demonstrate our commitment to quality improvement. This is a process that is nationally recognized and one that we as an agency can feel good about. Staff Comments A workforce development plan is in final stages and promises to maintain a well prepared and competent public health workforce. Following the Public Health 101: This was truly one of the most enjoyable and enlightening classes I feel proud to be apart of such a quality public health team. 8
Staff recommendations Engage more staff fully in the process over the next 5 years. Making standards part of our routine practice part of CCDPH s culture and operation. Improve communication to all staff so that all work is incorporated into the accreditation process and informed by the Domains and Standards Completing the accreditation process took: Support of the Health Department Leadership Involvement of staff throughout the department Time to properly prepare for each step Recognition that Accreditation is about Quality Improvement 9
Critical Leadership Support All respondents to a recent PHAB Evaluation agreed with the statement that CCDPH made the right decision to apply for accreditation. Evaluation results from March 25, 2014 Staff Participation Engage more staff more fully in the process over the next 5 years. CCDPH Evaluation comments, March 25, 2014 10
Plans Workforce Services What does national public health accreditation mean to CCDPH? Accountability to people of Cook County. Credibility to the health department and staff. A recognized level of capacity and service to the population. 11
A department doesn t have anything more valuable than its people Next Steps: Completed an Annual Report in March, 2015 Assigned Domain Leaders & develop teams Set up a SharePoint documentation site Developed a document maintenance plan Developing a communication plan 12