Northampton Health Department awarded Reaccreditation with Honors
Published 5:34 pm Tuesday, July 2, 2024
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JACKSON – Hard work and years of preparation have led to a huge accomplishment for the Northampton County Health Department.
Northampton County Health Director Megan Vick (left) is pictured with and Pamela Brown, Lenoir County Health Director and Lead Site Visitor. Contributed Photo
The agency received its Reaccreditation with Honors status on May 17. This is the second time the agency has been awarded Reaccreditation with Honors status. The agency was awarded its initial accreditation status in 2009 and reaccreditation was awarded in 2014 and 2018.
Northampton Health Director Megan Vick traveled to Raleigh for the official North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation (NCLHDA) Board meeting on May 17 where the agency was awarded Reaccreditation with Honors status. This honorary designation was implemented for the first time in Fall of 2017 to recognize agencies that especially excelled in their accreditation assessment by missing one or less activities within each of five standards set by the NCLHDA program. They discussed their Site Visit, which occurred Jan. 31 of this year, and their findings which showed the agency “Met” 147 out of 147 benchmarks.
The NCLHDA Site Visit team was highly complementary of the Board of Health, agency leadership, staff, and the agency’s resiliency during their COVID-19 response. The Reaccreditation status will last four years and in 2028 the agency will be up for Reaccreditation again.
The North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation Program, initiated in 2002, is a mandated process in which North Carolina local health departments must participate in. The NCLHDA’s website describes their focus “is on the capacity of the local health department to perform at a prescribed, basic level of quality the three core functions of assessment, assurance, and policy development and the ten essential services as detailed in the National Public Health Performance Standards Program. The program focuses on a set of minimal standards that must be provided to ensure the protection of the health of the public, but does not limit the services or activities an agency may provide to address specific local needs.”
For questions or more information, please call the Northampton County Health Department at 252-534-5841, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 5 pm.