1. Public Health Ready: An Overview

2. NACCHO Membership organization Strategic focus Program work supported via membership dues, grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements.

3. NACCHO LPHAs are diverse Current challenges require “dual-use” solutions Current challenges require a collaborative or systems approach

4. Public Health Ready Collaborative activity Broad vision focused on developing individual competency and LPHA capacity Mission: To prepare staff of local governmental public health agencies to respond and protect the public's health through a competency- based training and certification program.

5. Project Values Public Health Ready will complement, not duplicate, existing programs for professional development. Work collaboratively keeping needs of LPHAs foremost in mind. Certification process will be readily accessible and affordable to LPHA workforce. Certification shall add value to the day to day practice of LPHAs. Competencies shall reflect knowledge, skills, and abilities that are useful in “real-world” public health practice.

6. Project Values An advisory committee of leaders and practitioners from local governmental public health will direct the certification process. The certification process will be regularly evaluated to assure benefits and avoid negative consequences. Public Health Ready shall be sought after by LPHAs as evidenced by its success in the marketplace (the demand for its programs by the workforce) Training and certification will be implemented over time to allow for continuous quality improvement

7. Competency Based Training Preparedness & Response Planning Demonstration/ Scenarios LPHA Certification “Public Health Ready”

8. Training Competency-based Developing training program with partners First steps  Web-based awareness course  In-person ICS course

9. Preparedness Planning Project requires LPHA to have a plan Train to functional roles in LPHA plan First steps  Define functional roles in LPHA plan  NACCHO developing template plan for LPHAs

10. Demonstration/Scenarios Demonstration of competency through scenario/exercise Merges competencies with LPHA plan First steps  Designing scenario evaluation protocol

11. Certification LPHA reported need to show progress; certification is one way to do this Certification adds value to activities that may be undertaken anyway Agency can demonstrate national level acknowledgement/attainment of a standard

12. Pilot Process Select ten LPHA pilots by Nov. 1, 2002 “Representative” group of LPHAs (population size, region, state system) Implement trainings and planning process, provide feedback

13. Issues Taking competencies and developing trainings nationwide is a large undertaking Many training programs out there, lots of workforce activity (local planning, state programs, national programs, academic centers) Certification process is simultaneously breaking new ground and raising old issues Work is progressing, but the program is still a “work in progress”

14. Additional Information www.naccho.org/project83.cfm www.nursing.hs.columbia.edu/institute- centers/chphsr/phready.html www.phppo.cdc.gov/owpp