Injecting Ethics into the Public Health Quality Improvement / Accreditation Movement
Session Archive
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Description
Although emerging standards for the accreditation of public health agencies do not explicitly consider ethics, ethical principles can provide a rationale for including public health ethics in the accreditation process. This Hot Topics session will discuss how local and state public health agencies can use the Code to demonstrate accountability, increase the transparency of decisions and foster community trust in development and application of the accreditation standards.
Registration Information
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Presenters
Alan Melnick, MD, MPH, CPH is the Health Officer for Clark, Cowlitz, Skamania and Wahkiakum Counties and Associate Professor for the Department of Family Medicine and the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Public Health & General Preventive Medicine. From 2004-2006, he served as the Director of Research for the OHSU Department of Family Medicine. His previous experience in local public health includes serving as Health Officer for Washington County, Oregon (1990-1996) and Clackamas County, Oregon, (1996-2006). Dr. Melnick was Vice Chair of the Oregon Conference of Local Health Officials (1998-2006) and Board Member of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) (2005-2006). Currently, he is a member of the NACCHO Workforce Strategic Development Team, the NACCHO International Health Workgroup, the Community Level Health Promotion Study Section of the National Institutes of Health and Vice President of the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington. Dr. Melnick was a Year 3 Scholar in the National Public Health Leadership Institute, past Chair of its alumni association, the Public Health Leadership Society (PHLS) and is currently Co-Chair of the PHLS Ethics Committee. He is the NACCHO representative on the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) and Chair of the NBPHE Maintenance of Certification Committee.
Ruth Gaare-Bernheim, JD, MPH, is director of the Division of Public Health Policy and Practice and of the Master of Public Health Program in the School of Medicine, as well as associate director of the Institute for Practical Ethics and Public Life, at the University of Virginia. She currently serves on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Ethics Subcommittee and Virginia's State Pandemic Flu Advisory Board. She also is president of the Virginia Public Health Association from 2009-11.
Kathy C. Vincent, LCSW, has diverse staff duties as Staff Assistant to the State Health Officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health. She analyzes management/operational issues, assists in the development of agency directions, resolves agency/staff issues or questions, and analyzes and develops agency response to federal/state legislation - current and proposed. She has line responsibility for the Bureau of Home and Community Services; the Bureau of Professional and Support Services, which includes Public Health Nursing, Nutrition, Social Work, Workforce Development, Management Support, Women’s Health, Rural Health, Minority Health, and Pharmacy; and the Bureau of Children’s Health Insurance. She is active in the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials; is the past chair of the Public Health Leadership Society; is a member of the National Academy of State Health Policy; and serves as a work group member of the Public Health Accreditation Board. Ms. Vincent received her undergraduate degree from the University of Montevallo and holds an MSW from the University of Alabama.
Learner Objectives
By the end of this session participants will be able to:
- Recognize the role of ethics in the accreditation process
- Describe the ethical principles underlying the public health accreditation standards
- Explain how public health agencies can use the Public Health Code of Ethics in implementing accreditation standards
Target Audience
This session would be appropriate for the following audiences:
- Local and state public health practitioners
- Public health nurses
- Local and state emergency management staff
