Public health is a term that is used to encompass a variety of activities designed to prevent the spread of disease and promote optimal health. The Portsmouth City Health Department is the steward of public health for the citizens of the City of Portsmouth.

Within its 2004 Futures Initiative, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified accreditation as a key strategy for strengthening public health infrastructure.  Accreditation provides a framework for identifying performance improvement opportunities, to improve management, develop leadership, and improve relationships with the community. The process is one that will challenge the health department to think about what business it does and how it does that business.  On November 19, 2019 the Portsmouth City Health Department received accreditation, making us 35^th out of 110 Health Departments in the state of Ohio to be accredited. I believe this process has allowed the us to document our capacity to deliver the three core functions of public health and the 10 essential public health services, stimulated greater accountability and transparency within the department, and improved the management processes used by the leadership team in the health department, among many other benefits.

Accreditation would not have been possible without the support of our community partners.  Health Department continues to work with our partners to improve the health of our citizens through assessment, policy development, and assurance.

Chris Smith, RS, MA