Even though public health plays a critical role in the United States, there has not been a national accreditation program to confirm that public health departments are providing and constantly advancing the quality of services delivered to their communities, until now.¹ Incorporated in 2007, the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), developed a national accreditation program for health departments and launched the program on September 14, 2011.

Accreditation through PHAB provides a means for health departments to identify performance improvement opportunities, to improve management, develop leadership, and improve relationships with the community. The process is one that will challenge the health department to think about what business it does and how it does that business. It will encourage and stimulate quality and performance improvement in the health department. It will also stimulate greater accountability and transparency.²

TRAIN, the nation’s premier learning management system for professionals and volunteers who protect the public’s health, has developed a webinar series on accreditation. This three-part series focuses on topics such as:

• Domain 8: Maintain a Competent Public Health Workforce
• Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals
• Key tracking requirements that meet accreditation standards
• How to develop workforce training plans within TRAIN
• TRAIN data integrity
• Linkages between the Public Health Essential Services, Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals, Public Health Accreditation

Webinar 1

The first webinar hosted on November 15, 2011, Public Health Accreditation & Competency Based Learning: A Model Based on the TRAIN Learning Management System, is available in an on-demand format through TRAIN. For more information on the webinar, please review "TRAIN Accreditation Webinar Recording Now Available."

Webinar 2

The second webinar in this series is on January 24, 2012 at 2-3 pm ET. Register on TRAIN today as seating is limited! To register, click here and select the “Registration” tab, which will prompt you to either login to TRAIN if you already have an account or create a new account if you do not have a TRAIN account.

Webinar 3

The final webinar will be held on March 20, 2012. Registration information will be provided soon!

1. Public Health Accreditation Board. "Accreditation: Why It's Important Now." http://www.phaboard.org/index.php/accreditation/why_its_important_now/ Accessed January 5, 2012.

2. Public Health Accreditation Board. "What is Accreditation?" http://www.phaboard.org/accreditation-overview/what-is-accreditation/ Accessed January 5, 2012.