Could PPHR be used as a Prerequisite for PHAB?

Fairfax County is a densely populated, 407 square mile region located just outside of Washington, DC. The County includes within its border five municipalities: the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton. The County’s 1.1 million residents are racially and ethnically diverse, with approximately 32.5 percent of residents foreign-born and approximately 38 percent of people speaking a language other than English at home. The County is also a major thoroughfare leading into Washington, DC and is home to many federal facilities, private businesses supporting the federal government, and the US Army base Fort Belvoir. The Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD) received Project Public Health Ready (PPHR) recognition in 2010 and was re-recognized in 2015. The department also received Public Health Accreditation Board accreditation in 2016.

At the same time FCHD was preparing for the PHAB accreditation, which measures local health department (LHD) performance against a set of nationally recognized standards, Fairfax County was also undergoing the PPHR re-recognition review process. Similar to PHAB, PPHR also measures LHD performance against a set of nationally recognized standards however, PPHR focuses on preparedness competencies rather than a comprehensive review of all public health services. The PPHR application process prompted a review of all the department’s emergency preparedness and response plans, programs, and tools. Having worked through and revised all of these documents during the initial PPHR review process and re-recognition process, Fairfax County Health Department was in a great position to use the transferable plan for the emergency preparedness and response portions of the PHAB accreditation application. Additionally from a project management perspective, the initial PPHR recognition process taught Fairfax County how to evenly distribute the workload and how to form a team of individuals to manage the various aspects of a major recognition project.

Similar to PPHR, LHD officials say a tangible benefit from participating in PHAB is the feeling of gratification that comes from being recognized that your health department “measures up” to other health departments. Local health officials work extremely hard to serve their communities and typically feel their programs are top tier. However, without actually comparing the local jurisdiction’s programs against a benchmark, one can never be certain if the agency’s efforts are up-to-par. There are many benefits to participating in standards-based programs. Fairfax County’s experience with PPHR and PHAB are examples of how these programs add value for LHD staff and demonstrate a tangible return on investment.

Two valuable lessons learned from the initial PPHR review process, which were incorporated into the FCHD’s PHAB application and PPHR re-recognition process, were to start early and to never have too much documentation. Not heeding the advice of fellow planners to start early and include everything but the kitchen sink in documentation made the initial PPHR review feel rushed and incomplete. Yet, these lessons also made for a much smoother overall PPHR re-recognition and PHAB accreditation process.