Laurel County Health Department Maintains National Accreditation Status through the Public Health Accreditation Board

London, Kentucky — November 4, 2024 — The Laurel County Health Department today announced it has successfully completed a review process to maintain national accreditation status through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). In maintaining its accreditation status for another five years, the Laurel County Health Department has 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 Laurel County.

The non-profit 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 Mark Hensley, Executive Director. “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.]

The Laurel County Health Department achieved national initial accreditation status through PHAB on November 17, 2017, 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 the Laurel County Health Department 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 Laurel County Health Department, along with many others, are successfully maintaining their five-year accreditation status through PHAB,” said PHAB President and CEO Paul Kuehnert, DNP, RN, FAAN. “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.

Laurel County Health Department strives to protect and improve the health of the people of Laurel County by providing high quality public health services to all citizens such as:

• Enforcement of public health regulations for environmental safety
• Emergency preparedness and response
• Communicable Disease Control
• WIC Supplemental Nutrition Program
• Harm Reduction Programs
• Health Education Programs including Nutrition Education, Tobacco Prevention and Cessation, Maternal and Child Health Education, and Diabetes Prevention and Education.

In addition to these essential services, LCHD also collaborates with other organizations through local boards and coalitions. The 2023 Laurel County Community Health Assessment emphasized the need for more interventions in Mental Health, Substance Use Disorder and Obesity. The Laurel County Health in Motion Coalition, of which LCHD is a member, works to implement strategies to improve these health priorities.