Celebrating 10 Years of PHAB Accreditation: OSDH, Comanche County Health Department Among First Cohort of Accredited Health Departments

OKLAHOMA CITY – In 2013, the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) accredited its first cohort of 11 health departments, which included the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) and one of its local county health departments, Comanche County.

Both departments have maintained accreditation for the past 10 years.

Over the years both the OSDH and CCHD have learned valuable lessons, which have helped each entity to better carry out the mission, vision and values of the agency.

“PHAB accreditation has and will continue to challenge us to look for opportunities for continuous process improvement,” said OSDH Commissioner of Health Keith Reed. “It has truly provided an objective lens through which we can evaluate our effectiveness as a public health agency which in turn helps us identify how we can better serve Oklahomans and lead them to prosperity through health.”

For the OSDH, the pursuit of accreditation was an effort to become a frontrunner in public health practices for the communities served across the state. As the agency worked toward reaccreditation, the OSDH became a leader for multiple states to facilitate their own accreditation efforts.

For the Comanche CHD, becoming accredited was an opportunity that led to identifying strengths as a local public health agency and highlighting areas for improvement.

“PHAB accreditation empowered staff to lean in and embrace the opportunity to measure our practices and processes against national standards,” said Brandie Combs, the OSDH district 5 regional administrative director. “Through the accreditation process we have adopted a culture of quality improvement that yields significant benefits for employees, clients and residents.”

For more information about the accreditation story of the OSDH and CCHD click here.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) protects and improves public health through its system of local health services and strategies focused on preventing disease. OSDH provides technical support and guidance to 68 county health departments in Oklahoma, as well as guidance and consultation to the two independent city-county health departments in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Learn more at Oklahoma.gov/health. 

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