New Releases 
Congratulations, Fall 2022 Cycle!
In Fall 2022, we are thrilled to say that 12 Local Health Departments were reaccredited, 11 with honors! The newly established Yancey County Health Department also received conditional accreditation. Across the 12 reaccreditation site visits, the average number of activities missed was 1.6, ranging from zero to three missed activities. This is a significant improvement compared to historical averages, which prior to 2020 was 4.4 missed activities on average. Three health departments met all 147 activities! The most commonly missed activities included 5.1, 24.3, and 33.5, each cited 3 times.
2023’s Nearly Here! See You at the Annual Update Webinar
It’s hard to believe that we’re just seven weeks away from our 2023 Annual Update Webinar! Make sure you register for this free webinar where the program will share updates for the coming year. We encourage at least one representative from each health department to attend. The webinar will be recorded and posted on our website for later viewing.
MAPP 2.0 Released
In the last week, NACCHO released the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Parnterships (MAPP) 2.0 Assessment materials, which are full of robust resources to support health departments’ community health assessment and improvement cycles. Check out their website to review announcements, join their MAPP virtual network where you can download resources, and register for their Community Status Assessment webinar (Thursday, 12/8 from 11:30-1:00) and Community Context Assessment webinar (Wednesday, 12/14 from 12:30-2:00).
Accreditation in Action
Thank You, Board!
The NCLHD Accreditation Board defines, endorses, and upholds program standards. They have guided the program through many changes in recent years, and just convened for their ever hybrid meeting in November to complete fall adjudication. As we head into a new year, we also say goodbye to dedicated board members who have guided this program for many years: Barbara Beatty (2010-2022), Teresa Ellen (2015-2022, Chair since 2020), and Fleming El-Amin (2021-2022).
As Board Chair, we would like to especially thank Teresa Ellen for leading NCLHDA through many program changes in recent years. We are immensely grateful for her leadership and dedication to this program. As she retires from her role as Wilson County’s Health Director, we are excited to welcome David Stanley as the new board chair and Karen Powell as vice chair in 2023.
A New “Semester” of Office Hours
As we mark our calendars for the upcoming new year, be sure to hold time to attend our monthly office hours where you can stop in, ask questions, and discuss updates in a casual setting with program staff. You can see the full office hour schedule online.
Equity Related Resources
As we communicate accreditation updates through monthly highlights, we also have an opportunity to share existing resources that can help support equity related accreditation activities, including accessible training opportunities. Please email us if you have resources you would like to share in this space!
Check out the North Carolina ARPA Training Newsletter
Yesterday, the North Carolina ARPA Training Newsletter highlighted many equity related training opportunities made available through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, including training on crisis communication, registration for the 44th Annual Minority Health Conference, skill-building workshops, and self-paced online resources.
Key Dates
Today, December 7: Office Hours, 9:30-10:30 am
Virtual. There is no cost to attend; however, registration is required. Register.
Wednesday, January 4: Office Hours, 9:00-9:45 am
Virtual. There is no cost to attend; however, registration is required. Register.
Wednesday, January 25: 2023 NCLHD Accreditation Program Update Webinar, 10:00-11:30 am
Virtual. There is no cost to attend; however, registration is required. Register.
Interested in exploring all upcoming events? Check out our Calendar page online!
Stories from the Field
Site Visit Team Support
Our program is in the process of evaluating fall 2022 site visits, and we are excited by what we’ve heard so far – especially related to how well supported health departments felt thanks to site visit staff. Evaluations lift up our site visit team as kind, helpful and professional, which is music to our ears! We are grateful for our team of site visit team members who literally are in the field, at your health departments, collecting best practices and suggestions for improvement so that we can all build a stronger public health infrastructure in North Carolina.
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.