DURHAM, N.C. – The Durham County Department of Public Health wants to hear from you, including the good and the areas for improvement.
The purpose of the Community Opinion Survey is to gather feedback from the community about their satisfaction with the services Department of Public Health provides.
“Paper copies of the survey are available in English and Spanish, but we have also provided the survey in electronic form on Public Health’s homepage at www.dconc.gov,” said Rochelle Talley, Quality Assurance Coordinator. “The continuous feedback we receive will ultimately help us to develop quality and cost effective programs, while improving current services.”
The Community Opinion Survey feedback will also be valuable as the Department of Public Health embarks upon its first accreditation site visit in late April by the North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation Board.
The focus of North Carolina’s Local Health Department Accreditation (NCLHDA) is on the capacity of the local health department to perform at a prescribed, basic level of quality. Accreditation examines three core functions: assessment, assurance, and policy development; in addition to the ten essential services detailed in the National Public Health Performance Standards Program (NPHPSP).
The NPHPSP is based on a set of minimal standards that must be provided to ensure the protection of the health of the public, but does not limit the services or activities an agency may provide to address specific local needs. NCLHDA does not create a wholly new accountability system; rather it links basic standards to current state statutes and administrative code, as well as contractual and program monitoring requirements already set in place by the Division of Public Health.
Accreditation consists of three functional components:
• An agency self assessment, which includes 41 benchmarks and 148 activities
• A three day site visit by a multidisciplinary team of peer volunteers
• Determination of accreditation status by the North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation Board
The accreditation process is adjudicated by an independent entity, the North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation Board. Its members are appointed by North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services Secretary. The accreditation administrator, within the North Carolina Institute for Public Health, serves by legislative mandate.
Accreditation is achieved by appropriately meeting a set of capacity-based Benchmarks as evidenced by documented completion of prescribed Activities. Benchmarks may be met by either direct provision or assurance (through contracts, memoranda of understanding, or other arrangements with community providers) of required services and activities.
Currently, 69 of North Carolina’s 85 local health departments have earned accreditation by the North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation Board.
For more information about the Community Opinion Survey or the department’s upcoming accreditation visit, contact Talley at 919-560-7709 or by e-mail at rtalley@dconc.gov.