$300,000 to Arkansas to improve public health practice

The Arkansas Department of Health has received an award of $300,000.00 from the US Department of Health and Human Services. This funding, made possible through the Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the Affordable Care Act of 2010, and administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aims to make enhancements to public health practice in order to help improve the delivery and impact of services. The money will be distributed through the year 2 of a 5-year cooperative agreement program known as the National Public Health Improvement Initiative (NPHII) Strengthening Public Health Infrastructure for Improved Health Outcomes.
The Arkansas Department of Health will use these funds to enhance the agency’s capacity to build a performance improvement system. This system will continuously monitor outcomes, improve performance tracking and accountability, and increase the capacity of staff and systems to be engaged in performance improvement. Also, this funding opportunity will enable the agency to apply for and achieve voluntary national accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board. An accredited status is important as it will signify that the Arkansas Department of Health has achieved the quality standards needed for providing a high level of service.

“A strong, efficient, effective public health system is critical for building a healthy society,” said CDC Director, Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Investing preventative services, system improvement and policy level interventions in an atmosphere of accountability is essential to reducing the burden of health care costs in the future.”

“The people of Arkansas deserve high quality public health services, and the Arkansas Department of Health is committed to doing whatever we can to assure that we serve the public in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Meeting the Public Health Accreditation Standards will greatly assist our agency in achieve that goal,” said Paul Halverson, DrPH, M.H.S.A, director of the Arkansas Department of Health.

“These investments propel public health toward a new era of productivity and effectiveness,” said Dr. Judith A. Monroe, CDC’s Deputy Director for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support. “We will be supporting health departments in strengthening systems that are critical for detecting and responding to unexpected disease outbreaks or other threats to the public’s health.”