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On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Missouri Institute for Community Health, I want to congratulate the boards and staff of Dallas County Health Department and Hickory County Health Department for achieving Joint Primary Accreditation from the Missouri Institute for Community Health, better known as MICH.
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| The MICH's Accreditation Program is the only voluntary program for local public health agencies in the country. It is serving as a proto-type for the Public Health Accreditation Board, which is charged with developing a national voluntary accreditation program for state and local public health agencies that will be launched in 2011. |
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| Dallas County Health Department and Hickory County Health Department have a history of combining resources to best serve the needs of their counties. A school system serves both counties and the health departments worked together to start the Smokebuster Program in the school systems because the need for smoking cessation was identified as one of the top three health concerns in the area. |
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| The two agencies addressed the limited access to care issue by submitting a grant application to fund a federally qualified health center. Then, these agencies took the lead and worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to get a walking trail, and then met with the Community Resource Group, another bi-county partnership to start the Shape-Up Program. All three of the top health concerns were addressed jointly. |
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| Dallas and Hickory have maximized their limited resources to focus on health promotion and education. Staff are well trained and often cross county lines to cover for a colleague, showing that cross-training can extend outside an agency. |
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| Dallas and Hickory are the first two county agencies to apply for joint accreditation, and they are an excellent example for others to follow. Congratulations Dallas and Hickory for achieving Joint Primary Accreditation. |
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| Dr. Dalen Duitsman, President |
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Missouri Institute for Community Health
Board of Directors |
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