As more state, tribal, local, and territorial public health departments gather documentation to apply for the Public Health Accreditation Board's (PHAB) accreditation process, TRAIN, the nation's premier learning management network designed for public health professionals, can be an invaluable asset. Through the use of TRAIN's data collection and vast reporting capabilities, health department leaders have the ability to identify necessary training and track employee performance and development to meet PHAB's accreditation requirements for Domain 8, Domain 9: Standard 9.2, and training needs identified in other PHAB Domains.
Launched by PHAB on September 14, 2011, public health department accreditation seeks to advance quality and performance of these organizations.1 The national accreditation program was created collaboratively by hundreds of public health practitioners working at the national, state, tribal, local, and territorial levels.2 On March 4, 2013, PHAB awarded 11 health departments five-year accreditation, the first public health departments to obtain accreditation. These departments were the first of hundreds preparing to seek national accreditation through PHAB.
Franklin County (KY) Health Department (FCHD) utilized TRAIN functionality to meet the requirements of Domain 8 and Domain 9: Standard 9.2 of public health accreditation. FCHD tracked training that was offered and completed by their staff. FCHD assessed the training needs and determined strengths and weaknesses of existing and new employees through the use of a competency self-assessment, a self-reported document deployed through TRAIN that helps employees determine knowledge and skill levels with respect to each of the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Core Competencies). FCHD used data collected through the competency self-assessment to identify gaps in competence, update job descriptions, and formulate workforce development plans that meet staff training needs. The ability to collect evidence and training documentation on health department personnel was an essential tool for FCHD in successfully obtaining PHAB accreditation.
During the 2013 TRAIN Affiliate Consortium (TAC) Annual Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, David Knapp, the Kentucky TRAIN Administrator, further demonstrated how FCHD utilized TRAIN to meet the PHAB accreditation standards.
“TRAIN meets and simplifies accreditation documentation needs, particularly with training plans," Knapp explained.
The training plan feature in TRAIN enabled FCHD’s Human Resources (HR) Department to build training plans that utilized courses that meet specific Core Competency criteria. Through the training plan feature, HR could easily add new employees to training plans while tracking how current employees progressed through required competency-based coursework. By creating training plans with competency-based coursework, FCHD was able to provide required documentation for Standard 8.2: Assess staff competencies and address gaps by enabling organizational and individual training and development opportunities. Furthermore, the training plan feature sent reminder emails to employees on required courses that needed to be completed. By utilizing training plans that incorporated trainings tagged with Core Competencies, FCHD was able to meet accreditation standards and become a role model for other health departments looking to obtain accreditation.
TRAIN is only one tool of many from the Public Health Foundation (PHF) that can support a health department’s accreditation application. For additional information about the TRAIN learning management network, contact the TRAIN Team.
For those health departments in the process of gathering accreditation documentation, PHF offers accreditation assistance specific to quality improvement (QI), performance management, and workforce development (Domain 8 and Domain 9). Accreditation resources from PHF include:
Contact PHF's QI experts to tailor technical assistance to meet local needs that will prepare your department for Domain 8 and 9.
1. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Public Health Accreditation Board Launches National Accreditation for Health Departments. http://www.rwjf.org/publichealth/product.jsp?id=72829. Accessed May 10, 2013.
2. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Eleven Public Health Departments First to Achieve National Accreditation Status. http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/newsroom-content/2013/02/eleven-public-health-departments-first-to-achieve-national-accredit.html. Accessed May 10, 2013.