Denton County Public Health (DCPH) has received national accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) for DCPH’s commitment to excellence in serving Denton County. Currently, DCPH is one of eight local health departments in Texas with PHAB accreditation. DCPH is also one of only four local health departments in the state with dual accreditation from PHAB and Project Public Health Ready (PPHR).
“Achieving National Public Health Accreditation scoring higher than the average scores of 350 departments in 11 out of 12 domains is a substantial achievement,” said Denton County Judge Andy Eads. “This achievement also reflects the collaboration of many county departments in providing top-notch services for the public with our Denton County Public Health department. Knowing our residents have the best health services available to them has always been our ultimate goal.”
Established in 2007, PHAB is the nonprofit organization that administers the national accreditation program, which aims to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing and transforming the quality and performance of governmental public health agencies in the United States and abroad. Seeking voluntary PHAB accreditation is a multi-year process culminating in a local health department’s documentation of workforce capacity and a site visit verification. This accreditation process confirms DCPH delivers core public health functions while promoting transparency, process and quality improvement, and health equity throughout the communities it serves.
“This is a great day for DCPH and for Denton County residents. This process forced us, as a department, to go from good to great – and we couldn’t be prouder,” stated Dr. Matt Richardson, Director of DCPH. “But most of all, this is a testament to the hard work and dedication by each and every DCPH team member: to them we say, ‘thank you.’”
DCPH demonstrated public health performance by meeting the comprehensive metrics required by PHAB, a unique partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. PHAB accreditation authenticates a commitment to public health collaboration and community focus by equipping local health departments with sustainable tools for continuous improvement of the quality of their services, performance, and partnerships. Without the longstanding collaboration and assistance with local community members, elected officials, and community partners including United Way of Denton County, Cook Children’s, Texas Health, University of North Texas, Texas Woman’s University, and many more, accreditation would not have been possible.
“We congratulate DCPH for working to serve its community in the best possible way,” said Joe Finkbonner, RPh, MHA, chair of PHAB’s Board of Directors. “The accreditation process requires a commitment to quality and performance improvement. By achieving accreditation through PHAB, people living and working in Denton County can rest assured that DCPH is strong, has been rigorously examined, and has the capacity to protect and promote the health of everyone in the community.”
To learn more about PHAB accreditation, visit the PHAB website. For more information about DCPH, please visit the Denton County Public Health Department website and follow @WeAreDCPH on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more information on CDC’s support of PHAB, visit the CDC Website.