COMANCHE CO., Okla_ The Comanche County
Health Department is one step closer to being accredited, and they'll be the
first county in the state if they achieve it.
The Public Health Accreditation Board visited the department last month,
looking at the efficiency of how they manage their services. The health
department's new director said the accreditation will set a level of standards
of excellence of how they can continue to deliver the best possible care to Comanche County residents.
Accreditation
in public health is relatively new. The department began testing for this
accreditation about two years ago, but they could find out if they'll be
accredited in a few months. Comanche
County's Health Department
is one of a few in the nation that is undergoing this process.
The Comanche County
Health Department offers a vast array of services, and they're not all confined
to the walls of the building. New Director Brandie O'Connor said the department
already works closely with other entities on public health issues. She said
accreditation will allow the department to manage those issues even better.
"Flu is
huge across the state and our nation," O'Connor said. "We're looking at being
proactive, trying to do surveillance in schools, and things like that. Through
accreditation, we're able to track those measures and look at trends. It kind
of sets that standard for us. We can go back and look at the quality
improvement."
She said the
department had to undergo the rigorous process of fine-tuning the services it
offers to the public. They had to present the data to the Public Health Accreditation
Board.
"They
looked at everything from how we communicate to the public, to how we engage
the public, to how we engage our community trends," O'Connor said. "They looked
at how we spend our money and who our checks and balances are as far as how we
spend our money. They looked at how we work with our local board of health."
She said
accreditation can also give the department an advantage when seeking funding.
"Obviously,
if a funder is looking at two organizations, one has gone through an
accreditation process and has proven they have standards of excellence, and one
hasn't. The idea is that the accredited program will have a little more
leverage. This is great, because we can offer more programs throughout the
county."
O'Connor said
the department should find out if they will be accredited in March. Until then,
she said residents will continue to get the best possible care, both inside the
facility and out
"You're
going to see public health messages out in the community a lot more," O'Connor
said. "You're going to see evidence-to-base programs in your schools and day
cares. It's not a new approach in this county. You're going to see a
continuation of that. We'll be engaging in community health partners, because
we certainly can't do it on our own."
O'Connor said the State Health Department is also seeking accreditation.
If both are achieved, Oklahoma
will be the only state in the country to have state and county health department
accreditations. The Cherokee Nation's Health Department is also seeking
accreditation.
O'Connor said Comanche County's sexually transmitted disease
rates are among the highest in the country. She said the department is trying
unique ways to be proactive about reducing those numbers.
"We're
working with bars and different non-traditional partners to get prevention
messages out there, so we can do some prevention instead of constant treatment
inside our four walls. We want to practice prevention out in the community."
She said the department will also be working on other campaigns targeting
childhood obesity and smoking.
