Authors

Angela Peden, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow
Gulzar H. Shah, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow
Russell Toal, Human Services Department, State of New Mexico
Dayna S. Alexander, UNC Eshelman School of PharmacyFollow
Alesha Wright, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University
Ashton Anderson, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University
Nandi A. Marshall, Armstrong State UniversityFollow
Scott Uhlich, Georgia Department of Public Health
Jeffery A. Jones, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow

The State of Accreditation Readiness in Georgia: A Case Study

Abstract

Background: Georgia’s public health districts first began exploring the idea of national public health accreditation in 2008 when Cobb & Douglas Public Health included accreditation in their strategic plan. In May 2015, Cobb & Douglas Public Health was the first Georgia public health district to achieve national accreditation status. This article discusses the current state of accreditation readiness in Georgia and explores strengths and barriers to accreditation.

Methods: This study utilized a case study approach in order to examine PHAB accreditation efforts in Georgia within a real life context. Data came from three sources: nine Accreditation Readiness Assessments, a PHAB Pre-Application Technical Assistance Survey, and state-wide Accreditation Readiness Survey.

Results: The Accreditation Readiness Assessments resulted in several lessons learned about common strengths and barriers to accreditation. Strengths included a dedicated staff and supportive Boards of Health. Barriers included accreditation fees and a lack of personnel time. The PHAB Pre-application TA Survey revealed that the majority of those surveyed would recommend TA to other agencies pursuing PHAB accreditation (91%). The Accreditation Readiness Survey revealed that 14 of 18 GA public health districts are either PHAB accredited (1 district), actively pursuing PHAB accreditation (2 districts), or planning to apply (11 districts). This includes 116 of the 159 Georgia counties (73%).

Conclusions: The results of this case study show that 72% of Georgia’s public health districts are engaged in accreditationrelated activities. This includes activities such as accreditation readiness assessment, community health assessment, QI council and plan development, strategic planning, and policy review.

First Page

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Last Page

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Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Peden, Angela; Shah, Gulzar H.; Toal, Russell; Alexander, Dayna S.; Wright, Alesha; Anderson, Ashton; Marshall, Nandi A.; Uhlich, Scott; and Jones, Jeffery A. (2015) "The State of Accreditation Readiness in Georgia: A Case Study," Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association: Vol. 5: No. 1, Article 24.
DOI: 10.20429/jgpha.2015.050124
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/jgpha/vol5/iss1/24