Cape County health center reaccredited

The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center has received a five-year accreditation from the Missouri Institute for Community Health (MICH), an achievement matched by only a handful of county health departments in the state.

Accreditation is an affirmation the health center meets or exceeds the requirements necessary to provide essential public health services to the community, according to Jane Wernsman, director of the health center on Linden Street in Cape Girardeau.

MICH is the accrediting body for the Missouri Voluntary Accreditation Program for Local Public Health Agencies.

The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center was initially accredited by MICH in 2015. MICH executive director Dennis Diehl presented an accreditation plaque to the health center’s board of trustees and leadership staff earlier this week.

“Accreditation is a badge of honor that demonstrates our devotion to increased accountability and credibility to the public, our funders, elected officials and our partner organizations,” Wernsman said.

The health center is one of only 14 county health facilities to be accredited in Missouri, Diehl said, and explained accreditation means the center has met or exceeded the standards set by the MICH program in the areas of communicable disease, chronic disease and injury prevention, emergency preparedness, environmental health, maternal and child health, access to care and agency leadership.

Accreditation also required completion of a community health assessment as well as a community health improvement plan, a strategic plan, a quality improvement plan, a communications plan and a workforce development plan.

“Being accredited is important to us because it demonstrates that we are continuing to assess our services and performance to make certain we are meeting the public health needs of those we serve,” Wernsman said.

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