New Releases 
April Fools!
This week, Friday is the new Wednesday! We hope everyone is taking some time to enjoy the blossoming spring weather.
Where do I direct my questions?
As health departments prepare for site visits and start spending more time in the accreditation world, we know there are many questions! If you’re looking for answers, please consider signing up to join us for our office hours (May 10 & June 7) or email our program at NCLHDaccreditation@unc.edu so that we can get you a thorough, timely response. When emailing about a specific activity’s interpretation, please put the activity number in the subject line.
Activity 22.2: ATTENTION for Fall 2022 and Winter/Spring 2023 Site Visits
North Carolina counties are now using the 2022 Health Department Self-Assessment Instrument (HDSAI) Interpretation document for Fall 2022 accreditation site visits and beyond. When updates were made to that document and it went into effect on January 1, 2022, full and formal information on movement of programs from the Division of Public Health to the Division of Child and Family Well-Being within NCDHHS was not known. Therefore, required documentation states, as it has in the past for Activity 22.2:
- Completion of Activity 17.1 and 22.2 Division of Public Health State Programs Section of the XXXX County HDSAI Programs list (earlier version found here)
- Letters from appropriate monitoring offices of the N.C. Division of Public Health verifying program compliance
As we only make changes effective January 1st of every year, this will remain in effect and clearly requires program letters only from the Division of Public Health. Therefore, our program will advise local health departments, site visitors, and our Board that Agreement Addendums 318, 324, 351, 352, 353, 357, 361, 362, 403, 415, 416 620, 803, 834, 846, 876, and 879 will NOT be included in our updated XXXX County HDSAI Programs list and they are not, at this time, required to provide program letters for these programs.
Activity 32.2: Management Information System (MIS) Definition
NCLHDA has clarified the definition of Management Information System (MIS) as it relates to Activity 32.2: A Management Information System can be defined as the aspect of your general IT system that concerns medical records, surveillance/dashboard systems, software systems, etc. If you have a general county policy about the IT system of the county and required training for county employees, this would also address MIS.
New Environmental Health Resource
As a resource on the NCLHDA website, you can now find a slide deck reviewing HDSAI 2022 changes specifically related to Environmental Health accreditation team members, including program updates, changes to environmental health-related activities, and resources: https://nclhdaccreditation.unc.edu/updates/shared-resources/
Accreditation in Action
Regional Workgroups
Did you know that each region in the state has a regional workgroup representative who serves on the AAC Advisory Council? As site visits resume, we encourage you to connect to your regional workgroup. You can find your representative online at https://nclhdaccreditation.unc.edu/updates/regional-workgroups/
Equity in Accreditation
We are currently recruiting six health departments to participate in one-hour focus groups to gain insight into accreditation staffs’ needs and desires surrounding equity-related supports as they relate to the accreditation program. We are hoping to speak to 5 staff members per health department who are involved with equity and/or accreditation efforts. Each health department that participates will receive a $125 honorarium for their participation. If you think your health department may be interested, please email NCLHDaccreditation@unc.edu with “Equity in Accreditation” in the subject line.
Design Thinking for Public Good
Thank you to our AACs who participated in the first user session exploring “how might we better foster the sharing of accreditation ideas and experiences across health departments?” in partnership with students from the UNC-CH course “Design Thinking for Public Good.” We’re excited for the next session on April 13 from 11:40-2:00 to brainstorm ideas. If you missed your chance to sign up and are still interested, please email Margaret at Margaret.nemitz@unc.edu by end of day Monday, April 11.
Registration OPEN for Dashboard and New AAC Trainings
Need a Dashboard refresher? New to an Agency Accreditation Coordinator role? Don’t wait to register for the Bi-Annual Dashboard Webinar and Accreditation 101: New AAC Training taking place on Tuesday, April 26. Registration is open until noon on Monday, April 25.
Key Dates
Tuesday, April 26, 2022: Bi-Annual Dashboard Overview Webinar from 9-10:30 a.m.
Webinar. There is no cost to attend; however, registration is required. Register.
Tuesday, April 26, 2022: Accreditation 101: New Agency Accreditation Coordinator (AAC) Training from 12:30-5 p.m.
Virtual Training. There is no cost to attend; however, Dashboard Overview Webinar is a pre-requisite and registration is required. Register.
Tuesday, May 10: Accreditation Office Hours from 9-10 a.m.
Office Hours. There is no cost to attend; however, registration is required. Register.
Interested to explore all upcoming events? Check out our Calendar page online!
Tips and Tricks for Accreditation Success: Stories from the Field
Time to Connect
The students from Design Thinking for Public Good heard from AACs last month a desire for connection opportunities where NCLHDA staff are not present. While the students and AAC volunteers continue to brainstorm and come up with creative ideas for connection, we’ve decided to add a new breakout room to our existing office hours for local health department accreditation team members to connect directly to each other without one of us in the room. We hope this provides a small bit of space for you all to connect while we await results from the rest of the design thinking process!
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.