Norwalk health department begins multi-year work to prepare PHAB reaccreditation in 2027

Daniela (accreditation coordinator) told the Norwalk Board of Health on Jan. 28 that the department has begun an organized, multi-year effort to prepare for reaccreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) in 2027.

Daniela described a tracking approach that assigns documentation leads, provides guidance packets for each requirement and uses a mirrored OneDrive workspace for collaborative drafting. She said the full PHAB reaccreditation application requires at least 93 pieces of documentation across 10 domains and that some measures require multiple examples or materials from a defined recent time window. “At the very end of this process, I, as the accreditation coordinator, am responsible for uploading documentation to PHAB, and Deanna is the director of health is responsible for the submission to PHAB,” Daniela said.

Staff described steps already completed: a first-round assignment of requirement leads, a second redistribution to balance workload, creation of guidance packets listing measure numbers and suggested document types, and soft timelines and master tracking tools. Daniela said many documents are being collected now and that drafts are reviewed iteratively by leads, the accreditation coordinator and the director.

Daniela said Norwalk was first accredited in February 2014 and reaccredited with a 100% score in March 2022. She asked the board for continued support and said the department will bring regular updates; the formal submission window is April–September 2027.

No formal vote was taken on the reaccreditation work plan; the presentation was accepted as a progress report.