By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Huron County gave Crawford County a little neighborly advice when it comes to health department accreditation: whether or not anybody likes it, it’s become mandatory. Luckily, though, the Huron County Public Health is in a been-there, done-that situation and was a prime candidate to explain the process to the Crawford County Board of Health members.
Huron County Health Commissioner Tim Hollinger and Director of Community Health Katie Spaar attended a Board of Health meeting Wednesday afternoon to explain the accreditation process. Huron County has been going through the accreditation process for the past five years.
As required by Ohio House Bill 59, accreditation will be mandatory for all health districts in the state. Ohio is the only state to require mandatory accreditation for health districts. Currently, only four other health districts have been accredited in Ohio. Accreditation submission will be required by 2018 with full accreditation by 2020.
Accreditation also requires continuing education of Board of Health members and the creation of a standardized process of specific data collection.
There are three separate and distinct sets of requirements for a local health district, each which has its own set of various requirements that need to be met.
Spaar and Hollinger explained that much of the accreditation process would entail explaining and documenting the steps on how a health district maintains a baseline or minimum standards of practice in public health. They added that Huron County has teamed with other county and community entities to improve health standards and inform the public about health issues.
For Crawford County, accreditation fees would be $12,720 for 2014-2015. Hollinger said there are grants available to help with accreditation funding.
The board was also scheduled to go into executive session Wednesday to discuss the position of health commissioner.