Albemarle Regional Health Services awarded reaccreditation with honors
Published 3:54 pm Tuesday, June 10, 2025
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
ELIZABETH CITY – Albemarle Regional Health Services (ARHS) was awarded reaccreditation with honors on May 9 by the North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation (NCLHDA) Board along with 12 other health departments from across the state.
Albemarle Regional Health Services staff members pictured from left are Donata Brown, Sandy Ferebee, Amy Underhill, Health Director Ashley Stoop, and NCLHDA Board Member and retired health director Jerry Parks. Contributed Photo
ARHS received an honorary designation in the accreditation assessment by successfully meeting the requirements of the NCLHDA Program, missing no more than one activity within the five established standards, which consist of 41 benchmarks comprising 147 activities.
The process of accreditation includes three major components – a self-assessment completed by the agency, a site visit by a multidisciplinary team of peers to review performance standards, and determination of accreditation status by an independent Accreditation Board comprised of state and local public health officials, Board of Health members, county commissioners, and at large members.
The accreditation process provides an efficient way to ensure quality public health services while also ensuring local health departments meet minimum requirements by linking basic standards to current state statutes, administrative code and the contractual and program monitoring requirements that are already in place through the N.C. Division of Public Health. In addition, accreditation is a quality improvement process to help agencies identify strengths and opportunities as health departments work daily to serve their communities.
North Carolina is the first state in the country to mandate accreditation for its local health departments. The focus of the NCLHDA is to assure that core public health services are provided and promote quality improvement in order to add value in local communities.
“I am extremely proud of ARHS for achieving this important designation,” states Ashley Stoop, MPH, ARHS Health Director. “It takes tremendous amounts of work and commitment from staff, our Board of Health, and community partners to gather the evidence needed for this process. Being recognized with honors speaks volumes about the quality work and dedication ARHS has for public health and the health of our communities.”