New Releases
Public Comment on the HDSAI Interpretation Document – November 5 – December 12, 2020
For the past six months, the Accreditation Standards Workgroup and a group of subject matter experts have been diligently working to review all Activities in the HDSAI Interpretation Document. On Thursday, November 5, the revisions proposed by this workgroup will be available for public comment. We encourage all AACs to engage their accreditation team members to provide feedback in their area of expertise. Respondents will have the opportunity to provide feedback based on topic area and can select to provide feedback on as many or as few activities as they would like.
The open comment period will begin following the November 5 The Accreditation Origin Story, webinar (see details below). An email will also be sent following the webinar with instructions for providing feedback.
2020 Webinar Series
The NCLHD Accreditation Program is offering a free monthly webinar series through June 2021. The next webinar, The Accreditation Origin Story, will be held November 5th from 10—11:30 a.m. This webinar will provide an overview of the Senate Bill 804 which created the accreditation program and the accreditation standards as established by the rules commission. Anyone who is interested in providing feedback during the open comment period of the HDSAI Interpretation document revision will benefit from attending this webinar. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required.
The recording of the October 21st webinar, Using Your Superhero Powers, is posted on our website. Information about upcoming webinars is posted on the Webinar Series page of our website.
Accreditation in Action
NCLHDA Dashboard Updates
On October 21 VMSG rolled out several updates to the VSMG dashboard. The main difference that NCLHDA Dashboard users will experience based on these updates is with the History Record explained below. When Org Admin Users hit “save” multiple times without changing any entries, they will get the message below. You should not need to keep any duplicate histories for the Accreditation Program. We will incorporate this update into future trainings; if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us NCLHDaccreditation@unc.edu.
History Record Duplicate Reduction/Elimination: From the 10/21 email from VMSG
Most changes in the Dashboard are recorded in a History database. The History database is used to generate the performance charts for Objectives and Activities. History records are created each time the SAVE button is clicked. It was possible to create duplicate History records by clicking the SAVE button multiple times without changing the date or information on the screen. This could lead to inaccurate results on the charts.
Org Admin and Manager type users can use the duplicate records to create a past history for the selected planning element by creating a record with the information from a previous point in time then going to the History screen and changing the date. This is very handy when you want to include data points from before the VMSG Dashboard was implemented.
With this last update, only Org Admin and Manager type users will have the option, through a dialog box, to create duplicate history record. Other users will not have the opportunity to create duplicate records.
Key Dates
Accreditation Origin Story – November 5, 2020 from 10—11:30 a.m. Webinar. North Carolina was the first state to legislatively mandate local health department accreditation. After fifteen years of implementation, the program is in the midst of a long-term participatory revision process. This webinar will provide an overview of the Senate Bill 804 which created the accreditation program and the accreditation standards as established by the rules commission. Anyone who is interested in providing feedback during the open comment period of the HDSAI Interpretation document revision will benefit from attending this webinar. There is no cost to attend, however, registration is required.
NCLHD Accreditation Board Meeting – November 20th, 2020. 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. via Zoom. The agenda will be posted by November 13th.
More Tools for Your Superhero Utility Belt – December 8 from 10 – 11:30 a.m. Webinar. Free tools like Tableau Public, Canva and Jamboard provide new opportunities to communicate with staff, partners and communities. This webinar will introduce these three tools, share how they can be beneficial to Accreditation, provide a brief orientation to getting started and provide space to discuss questions and lessons learned with one another. There is no cost to attend, however, registration is required.
Annual Update Webinar – January 21- 9 – 11 a.m. Webinar. Every January an update webinar is held to share NCLHDA Program updates for the coming year. All local health departments are encouraged to have at least one accreditation team member join the webinar. This year will provide an overview of the rollout of revision to the HDSAI Interpretation Document. Registration will open in December.
Tips and Tricks for Accreditation Success: Stories From the Field
Surry County – Updating Signage to Support Compliance with Tobacco Free Policies
Updating tobacco free signs to include electronic delivery systems is one of the clearest tools for compliance with the policy. It helps the health department staff because it makes it clear that electronic delivery systems are included in the tobacco free policy and helps take the burden off of the health department staff to explain to clients what is included in the tobacco free policy. Health departments across the state have started to update the language as they replace and update signs. Surry County has updated their signage to add this clarification.
For more information, contact Emily Mayes, AAC, Surry County Health and Nutrition Center, mayesem@co.surry.nc.us
We Want to Hear from You!
Share your tips and tricks for accreditation success with other local health departments across the state. If you have a tip or trick that you would like to share, send a summary- no more than 500 words- including the activity addressed and any lessons learned. Please send your submission to NCLHDaccreditation@unc.edu. Stories will be shared via these monthly highlights.