The Public Health Foundation (PHF) is pleased to announce that that Drs. Kaye Bender and Bruce Dart have been elected to the PHF Board of Directors, an eleven-member body composed of state and local health officials, a local board of health member, and individuals from academic, private sector, and other public health agency settings.
Kaye Bender, PhD, RN, FAAN, served as President and CEO of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) through 2019. Prior to joining PHAB, Dr. Bender worked in both local and state public health practice in the Mississippi, including 12 years as Deputy State Health Officer. She served as Dean of the University of Mississippi Medical School of Nursing in Jackson, Mississippi for six years and chaired the Exploring Accreditation Steering Committee, the precursor study for the establishment of PHAB.
Bruce Dart, PhD, has served five local health departments in three states during his 36-year career in public health. Currently, Dr. Dart is the executive director of the Tulsa City/County Health Department (OK), a local public health agency of 340 team members in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Dart is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist and former Nebraska Environmental Health Administrator of the Year.
Recognized as leaders of the national public health accreditation movement at both the local and national levels, both Drs. Bender and Dart have served at PHAB since its inception – Bender as CEO and President, and Dart on the organization’s inaugural Accreditation Review Committee. Under Dr. Dart’s direction, the Tulsa City/County Health Department achieved national accreditation in 2013 and reaccreditation in 2019, thereby extending its accreditation status for another five years. The agency was the first public health department in Oklahoma to be reaccredited.
Their combined experience with public health accreditation adds to PHF’s very strong history with accreditation preparation and support for health departments. Approximately one-third of all accredited health departments have worked with PHF’s performance improvement experts in some capacity during their accreditation journey. PHF has served more than 500 health departments with quality improvement, performance management, and workforce development technical assistance and training in total.
Is your health department pursuing PHAB accreditation or reaccreditation? Contact Ron Bialek at [email protected] or (202)218-4420 to discuss how our experts can assist.