New Releases 
COVID-19 Response Guide
Now that health departments are starting to shift some of their focus back to non-COVID related tasks, it is time to start thinking about how all that work your agency did to respond to COVID can be submitted as evidence for Accreditation. While the COVID-19 Response and NCLHD Accreditation HDSAI Guide is not an exhaustive list, it does provide some examples of how response activities could be used as Accreditation evidence. The guide also includes examples of evidence that health departments across the state are planning to use.
If you have an example from your agency’s response to COVID-19 that you would like to share, please email us: NCLHDaccreditation@unc.edu. We look forward to hearing from you!
2020-2021 Webinar Series
The monthly webinar series is back! Join us on August 31 (10 – 11:30 a.m.) Back with strategy: Turning plans into action. We will provide an update on the NCLHD Accreditation Strategic Plan and will explain how we are using the VMSG dashboard to track progress on the plan. There is no cost to attend however, registration is required. Register.
HDSAI Interpretation Document E-Learn
We are excited to unveil the first NCLHD Accreditation E-learn. The online module is ten minutes long and provides an overview of the key features of the 2022 HDSAI Interpretation document including the activity information template, activity crosswalks and timeline terminology. We encourage all members of the accreditation team to review the E-learn.
HDSAI Interpretation Document E-learn
Accreditation in Action
QI Design Team
On Friday, July 23rd, 16 representatives from six health departments across North Carolina virtually met to participate in a design thinking session tackling the question: “How might we design a support system for quality improvement for all local health departments in North Carolina while providing for differences among the health departments?”
The design thinking process is typically divided into three main sessions: ideation, prototype implementation, and pilot testing. This first session utilized Mural, an online whiteboard, to facilitate out-of-the-box brainstorming, imagining how local health department teams can create support systems for quality improvement. Most ideas shared centered around embracing change and creativity, collaborating with the community, and sharing leadership. The ideas developed in this session will be consolidated into two prototypes by NCLHDA and PHIP leadership to be implemented and modified by the design thinking team in the future sessions.
Special thank you to our participants representing Burke County, Dare County, Montgomery County, MTW District, Onslow County, and Person County, as well as our PHIP partners, Meredith and Amanda.
Key Dates
August 25, 2021 NCLHD Accreditation Board meeting from 1 – 4 p.m. Zoom. Details to join will be available on our website.
August 31, 2021 Back with strategy: Turning plans into action from 10 – 11:30 a.m. Webinar. There is no cost to attend however, registration is required. Register.
October 5, 2021 NCLHD Accreditation bi-annual dashboard webinar from 9-10:30 a.m. Webinar. There is no cost to attend, however, registration is required. Registration will open September 1.
October 5, 2021 NCLHD New Agency Accreditation Coordinator training from 12:30 – 5 p.m. Webinar. There is no cost to attend, however, registration is required. Registration will open September 1.
Tips and Tricks for Accreditation Success: Stories from the Field
COVID-19 Evidence Suggestions
The COVID-19 Response and NCLHD Accreditation HDSAI Guide highlights potential evidence opportunities related to the COVID-19 response. The guide also includes examples of how local health department are planning to use their COVID-19 response as evidence. Here are two examples of how local health departments plan to use their response to COVID-19 as evidence for Accreditation activities:
Activity 14.4 Development/Presentation of New/Amended Rules/Ordinances: Mecklenburg County worked with the Board of County Commissioners and municipalities within their jurisdiction to draft local ordinances around masking and Stay at Home Orders.
Activity 20.1 Health Services Collaboration: Transylvania County collaborated with FQHC Blue Ridge Community Health and Bethel A Church to provide COVID-9 testing outreach to local Hispanic and African American communities.
If you have an example from your agency’s response to COVID-19 that you would like to share, please email us: NCLHDaccreditation@unc.edu. We look forward to hearing from you!
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.