Survey Aims At Improved Public Health
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Tim [email protected]
The survey is part of a program developed by the Centers for Disease Control to assess strengths and weaknesses in local public health services around the country. Kosciusko County is one of 21 counties in Indiana chosen to participate in the pilot program, called the National Public Health Performance Standards Program.
The NPHPSP defines a public health system as, "all public, private and voluntary entities that contribute to the delivery of essential public health services within a jurisdiction." Public health includes hospitals, emergency management agencies, health clinics, police, organizations like the American Red Cross and local health departments.
At a county health board meeting earlier this month, Health Officer Dr. Bill Remington said raising the bar for public health systems around the country is necessary and inevitable.
"It's an issue that is not going away," Remington said. "If public health will be a real player in the American health scene, there needs to be accreditation and accountability."
Kosciusko County Health Department Administrator Bob Weaver said CDC officials will assess the completed survey and send the county an analysis in about a month.
"What they do is go through the survey very carefully and analyze any area where you might improve," Weaver said.
He said local, state and federal agencies develop training programs to address weaknesses indicated in the surveys. "What they like to do is set up a project, like a training project, and send groups to help train personnel," Weaver said.
Weaver said it remains to be seen how much the program will improve local health systems.
"I think it's too early to tell," he said. "I think we'll just have to see how the training goes, if it's really applicable to our situation."
Though the survey was designed for public health systems of all sizes, Weaver said he felt that some of the questions were geared toward large, metropolitan health systems and not smaller, rural systems like Kosciusko County.
"A small county health department works a lot differently than, say, the department in Indianapolis," Weaver said.
Weaver and Remington said they feel participation in the program gives Kosciusko County health personnel a glimpse of things to come.
"I think it's probably something that, over the years, will be required of every county in the state, probably every county in the country," Weaver said. "It's being really pushed at the federal level."
Remington told the health board he thinks local health departments, which often serve as the contact point for communication from the federal and state levels to local public health entities, may be subject to more accountability in years to come.
"My hunch is, 10 years from now, local health departments will be accredited," Remington said.[[In-content Ad]]
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The survey is part of a program developed by the Centers for Disease Control to assess strengths and weaknesses in local public health services around the country. Kosciusko County is one of 21 counties in Indiana chosen to participate in the pilot program, called the National Public Health Performance Standards Program.
The NPHPSP defines a public health system as, "all public, private and voluntary entities that contribute to the delivery of essential public health services within a jurisdiction." Public health includes hospitals, emergency management agencies, health clinics, police, organizations like the American Red Cross and local health departments.
At a county health board meeting earlier this month, Health Officer Dr. Bill Remington said raising the bar for public health systems around the country is necessary and inevitable.
"It's an issue that is not going away," Remington said. "If public health will be a real player in the American health scene, there needs to be accreditation and accountability."
Kosciusko County Health Department Administrator Bob Weaver said CDC officials will assess the completed survey and send the county an analysis in about a month.
"What they do is go through the survey very carefully and analyze any area where you might improve," Weaver said.
He said local, state and federal agencies develop training programs to address weaknesses indicated in the surveys. "What they like to do is set up a project, like a training project, and send groups to help train personnel," Weaver said.
Weaver said it remains to be seen how much the program will improve local health systems.
"I think it's too early to tell," he said. "I think we'll just have to see how the training goes, if it's really applicable to our situation."
Though the survey was designed for public health systems of all sizes, Weaver said he felt that some of the questions were geared toward large, metropolitan health systems and not smaller, rural systems like Kosciusko County.
"A small county health department works a lot differently than, say, the department in Indianapolis," Weaver said.
Weaver and Remington said they feel participation in the program gives Kosciusko County health personnel a glimpse of things to come.
"I think it's probably something that, over the years, will be required of every county in the state, probably every county in the country," Weaver said. "It's being really pushed at the federal level."
Remington told the health board he thinks local health departments, which often serve as the contact point for communication from the federal and state levels to local public health entities, may be subject to more accountability in years to come.
"My hunch is, 10 years from now, local health departments will be accredited," Remington said.[[In-content Ad]]
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