Mississippi State Department of Health receives national accreditation

JACKSON, Miss. – Today the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) announces that it has become a nationally accredited public health department, joining a select group of state health departments that meet rigorous standards of policy, practice and quality improvement. This accreditation is the culmination of an effort that began over three years ago with statewide community collaborations, in-depth assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of agency policies and procedures, and a renewed focus on quality improvement initiatives.

Accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) means that the MSDH provides primary and expert leadership in promoting and protecting the health of communities throughout the state, and that the agency meets or exceeds national standards of public health practices and performance.

“This is an incredible achievement for our agency, and it’s important for the state as a whole because it means we are more accountable and credible to the public, our funders, elected officials and community partners,” said MSDH State Health Officer Dr. Mary Currier.

PHAB officials have spent the last nine months thoroughly reviewing thousands of pieces of documentation demonstrating MSDH’s full range of processes and procedures, from disease investigation and chronic disease prevention to public information and education, community collaboration and partnerships, and quality impro