The Oneida County Health Department celebrated earning national accreditation Wednesday.
Only five health departments in the state have successfully gone through the process…that shows a department is adhering to high public health standards.
Oneida County Health Department Director Linda Conlon says a lot of it was documentation. The application filled ten three-inch binders. But she says it also involved improving actual services.
“How are we going to show them we are doing this well? What processes do we need to put in place to make sure that we are utilizing our best resources? That we’re doing evidence based programming, that we are monitoring the community and doing community assessments. That we are implementing plans and initiatives that make the community healthier.”
The department began working towards accreditation back in 2008, and but started focusing more intensely on the application process in the last three years.
Conlon says now that it’s earned the distinction, the department is excited to improve on the different systems it’s created…like calling postpartum moms.
“We have a lot of systems in place, such as performance management, quality improvement, getting them together and making them work systematically.”
Conlon says the department is now among the leaders of health departments in the state and nationwide…which may help open the door to future grants and partnerships.
