City of St. Louis Department of Health Earns National Accreditation

STL Live Interview with  Interim Director  Melba R. Moore

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(St. Louis, MO) - February 27, 2018 - The City of St. Louis Department of Health announced Tuesday, February 27, 2018, that it has achieved national accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). The national accreditation program works to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing and ultimately transforming the quality and performance of the nation’s state, local, Tribal, and territorial public health departments.

The City of St. Louis Department of Health is one of fewer than 200 health departments that have thus far achieved accreditation through PHAB since the organization launched in 2011. “We are pleased and excited to be recognized for achieving national standards that foster effectiveness and promote continuous quality improvement,” said Melba R. Moore, Acting Director/Commissioner of Health for the City of St. Louis. “The accreditation process helps to ensure that the programs and services we provide are as responsive as possible to the needs of our community. With accreditation, our department is demonstrating increased accountability and credibility to the public, funders, elected officials and partner organizations with which we work.”

The national accreditation program, jointly supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, sets standards against which the nation’s nearly 3,000 governmental public health departments can continuously improve the quality of their services and performance. To receive accreditation, a health department must undergo a rigorous, multi-faceted, peer reviewed assessment process to ensure it meets or exceeds a set of quality standards and measures. Over 250 community stakeholders were engaged in the City of St. Louis Department of Health’s multi-year journey to accreditation. “Now, whenever you see our seal of accreditation, you will know that our department has been rigorously examined and meets or exceeds national standards that promote continuous quality improvement for public health,” Moore said. “By continuing to improve our services and performance, we can be sure we are meeting the public health needs of those we serve as effectively as possible.”

The national accreditation program was created collaboratively over a 10-year period by hundreds of public health practitioners working at the national, Tribal, state, and local levels. Since the program’s launch in September 2011, hundreds of public health departments have applied to PHAB for accreditation, and hundreds of public health practitioners from across the nation have been trained to serve as volunteer peer site visitors for the program.

Learn more about PHAB by visiting www.phaboard.org.