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News – Monday, December 1, 2014
Clay County and Knox County Health Departments Awarded State Grants for Accreditation Support
CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Office of Performance Management has awarded grants totaling more than $32,000 to Clay County and Knox County Health Departments. The two local health departments are pursuing national public health accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), and will use the money to pay fees associated with achieving this designation. Clay County was awarded a 2015 Accreditation Support for Local Health Departments Grant (ASLHD-15) for $12,720. Knox County was awarded under the same grant for $20,670.
“We recognized that many of our local health departments faced financial roadblocks while pursuing national accreditation,” said IDPH Director Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck. “Although PHAB accreditation is voluntary, we believe achieving this designation is an important and major step toward improving the health of Illinoisans. We applaud both Clay and Knox Counties, along with other local health departments, for demonstrating their desire to achieve this national distinction.”
IDPH created the ASLHD-15 grant this year to address local health departments’ financial needs. Eligibility required health departments to be located within the State of Illinois and have a population that does not exceed one million. Applications were submitted through the IDPH’s Electronic Grants Administration and Management System (EGrAMS) and reviewed by members of the IDPH staff. The highest ranking applicants were selected for funding.
Grants were awarded solely to support the PHAB application fee based on the fee structure provided below.
| Health Department Category | Population Size of the Jurisdiction Served | 2014 - 2015 Total Fee |
| Category 1 | Less than 50,000 | $12,720 |
| Category 2 | 50,000 to 100,000 | $20,670 |
| Category 3 | >100,000 to 200,000 | $27,030 |
| Category 4 | >200,000 to 1 million | $31,800 |
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Public Health Improvement Initiative (NPHII), which IDPH was awarded in 2010, provided funding for the grant. NPHII supports the acceleration of public health accreditation readiness activities, implementation of performance and improvement management practices and systems, and the implementation and sharing of practice-based evidence.
PHAB accreditation measures health department performance against a set of nationally recognized, practice-focused and evidenced-based standards. The goal of the voluntary national accreditation program is to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of Tribal, state, local, and territorial public health departments.
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IDPH continues to implement its Five Year Strategy 2014-2018 to maximize IDPH's effectiveness, influence and value for promoting wellness, health equity, safety and improved health outcomes. Strategic plan priorities include developing and expanding partnerships; improving data utilization; reducing health disparities; improving regulatory compliance; and branding, marketing and communicating IDPH's value.
https://idph.illinois.gov/about/StrategicPlan_Final_2014-2018.pdf