OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma State Department of Health and the Comanche County Health Department have learned many valuable lessons over their first decade of accreditation, which helped them do a better job of performing the state agency’s mission, OSDH officials announced.
Both agencies were in the first wave of 11 health departments that received accreditation in 2013 from the Public Health Accreditation Board, a national organization that measures health departments’ ability to provide essential services and helps them improve the quality of those services. The state health department and its Comanche County branch have maintained accreditation for the past 10 years.
“PHAB accreditation has and will continue to challenge us to look for opportunities for continuous process improvement,” said OSDH Commissioner of Health Keith Reed. “It has truly provided an objective lens through which we can evaluate our effectiveness as a public health agency, which in turn helps us identify how we can better serve Oklahomans and lead them to prosperity through health.”
For the OSDH, pursuing accreditation meant becoming a leader in public health practices for communities across the state, according to a press release. As the state agency worked toward accreditation, it became a leader for other states seeking accreditation.
For the Comanche County Health Department, accreditation was a chance to identify the local department’s strengths as well as areas that needed improvement.
“PHAB accreditation empowered staff to lean in and embrace the opportunity to measure our practices and processes against national standards,” said Brandie Combs, regional administrative director for OSDH District 5. “Through the accreditation process, we have adopted a culture of quality improvement that yields significant benefits for employees, clients and residents.”
OSDH provides technical support and guidance for 68 county health departments across the state, as well as guidance and consultation for the two independent city-county health departments in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.