The national accreditation program sets standards against which the nation’s three-thousand-plus public health departments can continuously improve their services and performance. Participation is optional, but departments that achieve the distinction join an elite group. And Nevada County Public Health Director Jill Blake says they’ve finally gotten there, after a years-long process. She says while patients may benefit, there’s more of an internal growth for the department…

click to listen to Jill Blake

Blake says that includes doing more to address greater health equity and less disparities in care…

click to listen to Jill Blake

Accreditation is maintained for five years. Nevada County Public Health becomes just the 21st local department in California, of the state’s 61 eligible departments, to have achieved it. The program is jointly supported by the Centers for Disease Control and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.