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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: August 19, 2008 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No, ~- ~ <br />SUBJECT: Orange County Health Department Accreditation <br />DEPARTMENT: Health PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Rosemary Summers, 245-2411 <br />PURPOSE: To recognize the Orange County Health Department for achieving Accredited <br />Status. <br />BACKGROUND: North Carolina is the first state in the country to mandate accreditation for its <br />local health departments. The purpose of the accreditation program is to assure a basic level of <br />capacity and services in each of the local health departments across the state. <br />Since the 2004 pilot program that involved six local health departments, forty health <br />departments have been accredited. The process of accreditation includes three major <br />components - aself-assessment completed by the agency, a site visit by a multidisciplinary <br />team of peers to review performance standards, and determination of accreditation status by an <br />independent Accreditation Board comprised of state and local public health officials, Board of <br />Health members, County Commissioners and public members. <br />The accreditation process is a collaboration of the North Carolina Division of Public Health, part <br />of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the North Carolina Institute for Public <br />Health of the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, with <br />input from the North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors. <br />A few highlights from the final report from the site visit team to the NC Accreditation Board <br />included: <br />• The department appears to have a cooperative and participatory management style. <br />The site visitors were impressed with the expertise and experience of the staff, <br />particularly the environmental health staff. <br />• The Board of Health members have a clear understanding and are knowledgeable of <br />their legal role and responsibilities. There is ample evidence of a good working <br />