The Erie County Health Department announced that it has achieved national accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board. This makes Erie County Health Department one of the first 100 health departments to receive this accreditation. Health Commissioner Peter Schade stated that the accreditation signifies that the department meets high standards for quality and service. The accreditation process involved a rigorous review to ensure the department meets national standards that promote continued quality improvement. Residents can be assured that the Erie County Health Department has shown it can effectively protect and promote community health.

1. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: November17,2015
Contact: PeterT. Schade,MPH, RS
HealthCommissioner
419-656-2796, pschade@ecghd.org
Erie County Health Department Awarded National Accreditation
Sandusky,OH— November17, 2015 — The Erie CountyHealth Department
announced todaythatit has achievednational accreditationthroughthe Public
HealthAccreditationBoard(PHAB).The national accreditationprogramworksto
improve andprotectthe health of the publicbyadvancingthe qualityand
performance of the nation’sTribal,state, local andterritorial publichealth
departments.The Erie CountyHealthDepartment(ECHD) isanelite agencythatisone of the first100
healthdepartmentstoachieve accreditation. Withover3,000 healthdepartmentsacrossthe country
that are preparingtoseekaccreditationthroughPHAB,the non-profitorganizationthatadministersthe
national publichealthaccreditationprogram, ECHDistrulya leaderinpublichealth. The Erie County
HealthDepartmentanErie CountyCommunityHealthCenter isthe onlyagencyinthe nation thathas
the distinctionof being both:aPHABaccreditedhealthdepartmentanda full Federally QualifiedHealth
Center(FQHC).
“PublicHealth AccreditationStandardshave beenachievedinexceedingwaysbythe Erie CountyHealth
DepartmentandErie CountyCommunityHealthCenterstaff”accordingtoPeterSchade,Health
Commissionerof the Erie CountyHealthDepartment. “Accreditationsignifies alevel of assurance toour
communities thatwe are nowand will continuetoprovide the essentialpublichealthservicesatthis
highstandardthat accreditationrequires.Itisthis level anddiversityof service delivery thathassetus
apart as a local healthdepartmentanda federallyqualifiedhealthcenter,the onlycombinationthatis
accreditedinthe entire nation. Thankyouto ourBoard, our staff and mostlytoour community
stakeholdersformakingthis possible. We will continue tostrategicallyplanforthe besthealth
outcomesforErie County,Ohio. Inorder to maintainthisnational accreditationwe will foreverneedto
be the bestat service deliveryandperformance”,saidSchade.
The national accreditationprogram,jointlysupportedbythe CentersforDisease Control andPrevention
(CDC) and the RobertWood JohnsonFoundation,setsstandardsagainstwhichthe nation’smore than
3,000 governmentalpublichealthdepartmentscancontinuouslyimprove the qualityof theirservices
and performance.Toreceive accreditation,ahealthdepartmentmustundergoarigorous,multi-
faceted,peerreviewedassessmentprocesstoensure itmeetsorexceedsasetof qualitystandardsand
measures.

2. Whenyousee the seal of accreditation,youwill know thatthe Erie CountyHealthDepartmenthasbeen
rigorouslyexaminedandmeetsorexceedsnationalstandardsthatpromote continuousquality
improvementforpublichealth. Publichealthdepartmentsplaya critical role inprotectingand
improvingthe healthof peopleandcommunities.Incities,towns,andstatesacrossthe nation,health
departmentsprovidearange of servicesaimedatpromotinghealthybehaviors;preventingdiseasesand
injuries;ensuringaccesstosafe food,water,cleanair,andlife-savingimmunizations;andpreparingfor
and respondingtopublichealthemergencies. Inadditiontoprovidingtraditional publichealthservices,
the Erie CountyHealthDepartmentandthe Erie County CommunityHealthCentertakespride in
offeringadditional comprehensive primarymedical,dental andbehavioral healthservices toErie County
and the region.
“The Erie CountyHealth Departmentjoins the growingranksof accreditedhealthdepartmentsina
strongcommitmenttotheirpublichealthmission,”saidPHABPresidentandCEOKaye Bender,PhD,RN,
FAAN.“The peer-reviewprocessprovidesvaluablefeedbacktoinformhealthdepartmentsof their
strengthsandareas forimprovement,sothattheycanbetterprotectand promote the healthof the
people theyserve intheircommunities.Residentsof acommunityservedbyanationallyaccredited
healthdepartmentcanbe assuredthattheirhealthdepartmenthasdemonstratedthe capacityto
protectand promote the healthof that community.”
The national accreditationprogramwascreatedcollaborativelyovera10-year periodbyhundredsof
publichealthpractitionersworkingatthe national,Tribal,state,andlocal levels.Since the program’s
launchinSeptember2011, hundredsof publichealthdepartmentshave appliedtoPHABfor
accreditation,andhundredsof publichealthpractitionersfromacrossthe nationhave beentrainedto
serve asvolunteerpeersite visitorsforthe program.
“Achievingaccreditation indicatesthatthe Erie CountyHealthDepartmentisdedicatedtoimproving
and protectingthe healthof the communitybystrivingtocontinuouslyimprove the qualityof the
servicesitdelivers,”saidLeslie M.Beitsch,MD,JD, chairof PHAB’sBoard of Directorsand chair of the
Departmentof Behavioral SciencesandSocial MedicineatFloridaState UniversityCollege of Medicine.
“Accreditationalsopromotesconsistencyinmeetingstandards.Withanever-increasingnumberof
healthdepartments nowapplyingforandbecomingaccredited,youwillbe able toexpecttoreceive the
same qualityof publichealthserviceswhereveryougointhe UnitedStates.”
The Erie CountyHealthDepartment islocatedat420 SuperiorStreet,Sandusky,Ohio,419-626-5623.
You can alsofindinformationonthe webat www.eriecohealthohio.org.
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For more information please call oremail Pete Schade, HealthCommissioner, Erie CountyHealth
Department,at419-656-2796 or email atpschade@eriecohealthohio.org.