Somerset, KY – The Lake Cumberland District Health Department (LCDHD) today announced it has successfully completed a review process to maintain national accreditation status through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). In maintaining its accreditation status for another five years, LCDHD has demonstrated that it meets PHAB’s quality standards and measures and has the capacity to continue to evolve, improve and advance to continue improving the health of the residents of the Lake Cumberland District.
The non-profit PHAB works to advance and transform public health practice by championing performance improvement, strong infrastructure, and innovation. 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.
“We are so pleased to again be recognized by PHAB for achieving national standards that foster effectiveness and promote continuous quality improvement,” said LCDHD Executive Director Amy Tomlinson. “We hope this announcement will reassure our community, partner organizations, funders and elected officials that the services we provide are as responsive as possible to the needs of our community.
LCDHD achieved national initial accreditation status through PHAB on March 14, 2017, 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 LCDHD has the capacity to become increasingly effective at improving the health of the community.
“This would not have been possible without the commitment of our Board members and all LCDHD staff to providing top notch, quality service to our communities,” said Executive Director Tomlinson. “I’m so proud and thankful for all the hard work and dedication our staff have put in to maintain our accreditation. Everyone had a role in this effort.”
“We are extremely pleased to be at the point in the accreditation program where the Lake Cumberland District Health Department 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.
“As we look to the future, we will continue to address our community’s health challenges,” Executive Director Tomlinson stated. “Our mission remains to improve the health of those who live, learn, work and play in the Lake Cumberland area. We will continue to work with our county health coalitions and community partners to focus on tackling health issues and emerging health threats as they arise.”
About the Lake Cumberland District Health Department
The Lake Cumberland District Health Department works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in the Lake Cumberland District. Learn more about the health department at www.lcdhd.org. For more information, please contact LCDHD Communications Specialist Jeff Neagle at jeff.neagle@lcdhd.org.
About the Public Health Accreditation Board
The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) 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. Vital Records/Health Statistics accreditation is funded, in part, by the National Center for Health Statistics. The development of national public health department accreditation has involved, and is supported by, public health leaders and practitioners from the national, state, local, Tribal, and territorial levels. For more information, contact PHAB Communications Specialist Janalle Goosby at jgoosby@phaboard.org . Learn more about PHAB and accreditation at www.phaboard.org.
