The Howard County Health Department (HCHD) has achieved national accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). The national accreditation program works to promote and protect the health of the public by advancing continuous quality improvement and performance of all public health departments.

The attainment of accredited status comes after a rigorous, multi-faceted, peer-reviewed assessment process, which ensured the HCHD met or exceeded criteria established for a set of evidence-based quality standards and measures for public health.

During this three-year process, the HCHD submitted documentation examples that demonstrated conformity with 100 performance measures across 12 domains of public health practice. Included among these were the Community Health Assessment Process, Community Health Improvement Plan and the Department’s Strategic Planning Process and Performance Management System, as well as several Local Health Improvement Coalition activities, all of which were closely linked to partnerships with key stakeholders throughout the county and state.

Howard County now joins the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) and local health departments from seven Maryland counties (Allegany, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Wicomico and Worcester) who have PHAB accreditation. To maintain the awarded status, health departments must be reaccredited every five years.