The Wicomico County Health Department announced it has successfully completed a review process to maintain national accreditation status through the Public Health Accreditation Board.

By maintaining its accreditation status for another five years, WiCHD demonstrated that it meets PHAB’s quality standards and measures and has the capacity to continue to evolve, improve and advance to continue improving the health of the residents of Wicomico County.

PHAB works to advance and transform public health practice by championing performance improvement, strong infrastructure, and innovation. PHAB’s accreditation program, which receives support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sets standards against which the nation’s governmental public health departments can continuously improve the quality of their services and performance.

“We are so pleased to again be recognized by PHAB for achieving national standards that foster effectiveness and promote continuous quality improvement," said Health Officer Matthew McConaughey. “We hope this announcement will reassure our community, partner organizations, funders and elected officials that the services we provide are as responsive as possible to the needs of our community.”

In March 2016, WiCHD first achieved national initial accreditation status through PHAB after undergoing a rigorous, multi-faceted, peer-reviewed assessment process to ensure it met a set of quality standards and measures. Today’s announcement goes a step further by demonstrating that WiCHD has the capacity to become increasingly effective at improving the health of the community.                               

“We are extremely pleased to be at the point in the accreditation program where the Wicomico County Health Department, along with many others, are successfully maintaining their five-year accreditation status through PHAB,” said PHAB President and CEO Paul Kuehnert. “In so doing, these health departments are assuring their communities that the value of accreditation is long-term -- not a one-time recognition -- and that continual improvement is the hallmark of a 21st century organization.”

Often called the “backbone” of the public health system, public health departments are on the front lines of communities’ efforts to protect and promote health and prevent disease and injury. PHAB-accredited health departments demonstrate great leadership by placing their work for peer review, with the goal of using the feedback obtained during the process to improve the services they provide to their communities.

For more information about the Wicomico County Health Department, please visit our website at wicomicohealth.org.