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Appalachian District Health Department Awarded Reaccreditation Designation

The Appalachian District Health Department was among 15 health departments awarded reaccreditation status by the North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation Board on May 19, 2017. 

In addition to Appalachian District Health Department, the following were also awarded reaccreditation status: Beaufort County Health Department, Brunswick County Health Department, Burke County Health Department, Cabarrus Health Alliance, Caldwell County Health Department, Cleveland County Health Department, Cumberland County Department of Public Health, Dare County Department of Health and Human Services- Public Health Division, Davie County Health Department, Durham County Department of Public Health, Hoke County Health Department, Hyde County Health Department, Jones County Health Department, and Orange County Health Department.

“All of the agencies recently achieving reaccreditation have much to be proud of.  They have not only demonstrated their ability to meet a set of important performance standards, but excelled in many areas.  Through reaccreditation, these agencies demonstrate a strong commitment to continuously work to improve the quality of services provided to their respective communities,” comments Amy Belflower Thomas, NC Local Health Department Accreditation Administrator.

North Carolina is the first state in the country to mandate accreditation for its local health departments.  The purpose of the accreditation program is to assure a basic level of capacity and services in each of the local health departments across the state.

Since the pilot program involving six local health departments began in 2004, all eighty-five health departments have been accredited in NC and 79 have been reaccredited at least once.  The process of accreditation includes three major components – a self-assessment completed by the agency, a site visit by a multidisciplinary team of peers to review performance standards, and determination of accreditation status by an independent Accreditation Board comprised of state and local public health officials, Board of Health members, County Commissioners, and public members.

The NC Local Health Department Accreditation program is a collaboration of the North Carolina Institute for Public Health (part of the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), the North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors, and the North Carolina Division of Public Health (part of the NC Department of Health and Human Services).

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