OCHD Accreditation Team, Onondaga County Health Department

Left to Right: Robert Furey, Public Health Engineer 2; Wendy Kurlowicz, Sanitarian 4; Melanie Drotar, Public Information Specialist; Lisa GreenMills, Director, Disease Control; Rebecca Shultz, Director, Community Health; Michelle Mignano, Deputy Commissioner/Accreditation Coordinator; Brenda Dano, Director of Nursing, Healthy Families; Quoc Nguyen, Medical Director; Debra Lewis, Program Coordinator, Lead Poisoning Control Program; Matthew Alexander, Sanitarian 3, Temporary Residence and Recreational Facilities Supervisor; Sharon St. Louis, Public Health Compliance Officer; Indu Gupta, Commissioner; Susan Serrao, Director, Maternal Child Health/Healthy Families; Bridget Volz, Epidemiologist; Jeffrey Till, Public Health Engineer 4, Public Health Engineering Director; Gretchen Pierson, Sanitarian 3, Food Protection Supervisor; Lisa Letteney, Director, Environmental Health; Katherine Mogle, Program Coordinator, Healthy Communities Initiatives; Stacey Cibula, Program Coordinator, Public Health Preparedness; Mariah Senecal-Reilly, Program Coordinator, Community Health; Catherine Clark, Administrative Assistant, Commissioner's Office; Paul Kinder, Director of Operations, Healthy Families; Environmental Community Health Director; Jacqueline Shostack, Public Health Education Supervisor

Not Shown: Kristi Smiley, Administrative Officer, Department of Finance

The Onondaga County Health Department would like to acknowledge the entire department for being awarded national accreditation status by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). The Accreditation Team was especially integral to the department's success. Over the course of a year, this team developed more than 250 document packages for the measures, responded to additional PHAB questions, and prepared extensively for the Site Visit. Working across programs to develop and integrate a Performance Management system aligned to the department's Strategic Plan, Quality Improvement Plan, and Community Health Assessment and Improvement Plan led to a greater understanding of how the collective work of the department impacts the community, and reinforced that we must strive each day to continuously improve our services. Implementation of the workforce development plan included an assessment of core competencies and training needs of the department and led to new efforts to provide cultural competency training and staff development and recognition. Through the team's combined efforts, all Health Department staff enhanced their engagement in quality improvement, community collaboration, and data-driven approaches to protect and improve the health of Onondaga County residents.