Accreditation
National Public Health Accreditation
In August of 2019, Riverside University Health System – Public Health department joined numerous other local public health departments across the nation to achieve two goals:
- Improve agency quality and performance, and
- Ensure that agencies are accountable to their governing bodies, policymakers and the communities they serve.
The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) provides consistent standards so that people in different states, counties and regions have access to the same range and quality of services. The accreditation process encourages strategic investments to improve community health, demonstrates accountability to residents and elected officials, and spurs innovation as departments work together to meet the needs of our community.
The National Accreditation program is currently voluntary and officially began in 2011 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors authorized Riverside County Public Health to initiate the PHAB application process in September 2014 and in October of 2015 we submitted our application to PHAB, which included the requisite materials to demonstrate our proficiency for hundreds of measures across twelve domains, which were founded on the Ten Essential Services of Public Health.
RUHS-Public Health was awarded accreditation in August of 2019 and will remain accredited through 2024. The process to maintain accredited status past 2024 has already begun. This reaccreditation work centers around three core activities that leverage our work in fostering strong partnerships with a broad base of community partners like hospitals, law enforcement, non-profits, and individual community members like you.
Core Activities:
- Community Health Assessment (CHA)- What are the key health issues in Riverside County?
- Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)- How do we address these issues in an equitable way?
- Strategic Plan- How does the public health department accomplish its mission and align its work with the needs of the community?
The CHA process is currently underway, and the results will inform the necessary revisions to the CHIP. For more information on this health assessment and improvement planning process, as well as 100’s of current health metrics, please visit SHAPE Riverside County.
In addition, RUHS-Pubic Health is in the process of updating its Workforce Development and Quality Improvement Plans to ensure that the agency is well suited to serve the community in an efficient and equitable manner for years to come.
To participate in these planning and implementation efforts, please contact Kevin Meconis, MPH, at kmeconis@ruhealth.org or at 951-358-5557.