CDPH receives recognition during NACCHO Conference        
NACCHO Award
Jack Kennedy, M.D., district health director, Cobb & Douglas Public Health (center) receives the model practice award from Bobby Pestronk, M.D., NACCHO's executive director, and NACCHO President, John Wiesman, M.P.H., C.P.H.

Cobb & Douglas Public Health (CDPH) was recently honored during the 2012 annual conference of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) for developing and implementing a program that demonstrates exemplary and replicable qualities in response to a local public health need.
 
Cobb & Douglas Public Health's Center for Organizational Performance & Strategy Management was named one of 39 public health programs developed by a local health department and selected from across the nation to receive NACCHO's Model Practice Award. This award puts Cobb & Douglas Public Health into special company--a select group of health departments that exemplify a forward thinking, proactive attitude toward protecting and promoting the health of communities across the nation.
 
The Center for Organizational Performance & Strategy Management was designated a Model Practice as a result of their innovative approach to strategic planning, quality improvement, accreditation and engaging the community to find long term solutions to address current and emerging public health issues. CDPH's decision to place all of these initiatives: the Balanced Scorecard Method of performance management and quality improvement, the community health improvement plan to address community health disparities through the Mobilizing for Action through Planning & Partnerships (MAPP) process, and their preparation for accreditation through Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), led to the designation by NACCHO.

In September 2011, the center was one of only 26 communities nationwide to receive a Community Transformation Grant through the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to further expand ongoing health assessments with a particular emphasis on chronic prevention.

NACCHO recommends that other health departments adopt the organizational structure of the Center for Organizational Performance & Strategy Management to maximize use of scarce resources while adding exponentially more value to the community.

"We are very proud to receive NACCHO's Model Practice Award.  Cobb & Douglas Public Health is committed to developing responsive and innovative public health programs that improve the health of our community," said Jack Kennedy, M.D., district health director, Cobb & Douglas Public Health.

NACCHO Award conversation
Emily Frantz, director of organizational performance and strategy management, Cobb & Douglas Public Health, and Jack Kennedy, M.D., discuss CDPH's Model Practice submission with a NACCHO conference attendee.  
Each innovative project receiving the award was peer-reviewed by other local health department professionals and selected from a group of 166 applications. Since 2003, NACCHO's Model Practice Awards program has honored initiatives--including programs, resources, and tools--that demonstrate how local health departments and their community partners can effectively collaborate to address local public health concerns. The Center for Organizational Performance & Strategy Management is now part of an online, searchable database of successful public health practices in areas ranging from immunization and maternal and child health to infectious diseases and emergency preparedness.  

The NACCHO Model Practice database allows users to benefit from colleagues' experiences, learn what work sand ensure resources are used wisely on effective programs that have been implemented with good results. It also enables NACCHO to share information with key stakeholders and media about the good work being done by local health departments across the country.

The web address for NACCHO's Model Practices:  www.naccho.org/topics/modelpractices/database/

-Story by Darlene Foote, director of communications, District 3-1 (Cobb/Douglas)

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