Past Projects
Best Practices Initiatives:
- Community Health Assessment
- Complying with Public Health Accreditation Standards to Orient New Employees
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Interactive Online Training Module
Best Practices Initiative: Community Health Assessment
For this initiative, the Northwest Partnership sought to identify best practices for region-wide implementation through the development of a regional community health assessment survey based on data collected from a regional common data collection template. This assessment, called the Community Health Survey, was designed through a collaborative effort between partnership counties, NC Institute for Public Health, and Public Health Regional Surveillance Team (PHRST) 5. The survey and script are available for interested health departments.
Resources
Partners in Development of the Common Data Collection Template
Tools Developed
Community Health Assessment Survey and Script
- Community Health Assessment Public Opinion Survey (pdf)
This survey will be used in the Northwest Partnership region from 2009 - 2012. - Community Health Survey (Wilkes County) (Word document)
- Community Health Survey Script (Davidson County) (Word document)
Best Practices for Complying with Public Health Accreditation Standards to Orient New Employees
To build on the success of the best practices projects, the Northwest Partnership hired a regional intern to create a best practices policy document for complying with public health accreditation standards for orienting new employees. The following documents and templates in the table below were developed by Brandy Sparks and are to be shared across the state. Several components of this project was replicated in the Southern Piedmont New Employee Orientation intiative.
Resources
North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation
The North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation Board website is an excellent resource for becoming accredited in North Carolina. This site provides everything you need to know about getting started and provides the most up-to-date information on electronic accreditation and materials for health departments.
Tools Developed
Best Practices for Complying with Public Health Accreditation Standards to Orient New Employees
- Best Practices Document (Word document)
The document above provides an outline of best practice policies for new employees. - Policies and Components of Employee Orientation (Word document)
The document above provides a detailed list of sample policies and components of employee orientation
Template Presentations
Below are several different styles of new employee orientation presentations complying with Public Health Accreditation Standards:
- Edge Style Orientation Presentation (Powerpoint)
- Plain Style Orientation Presentation (Powerpoint)
- Puzzle Style Orientation Presentation (Powerpoint)
- Team Style Orientation Presentation (Powerpoint)
Other Templates
- New Employee Orientation Checklist (Word document)
- Complete Presentation for New Employees including each Module and a Script (Word document)
- Sample Policies (ex. Computer Use, Cultural Competency) (fileWord document)
- Notebook Cover Page (Microsoft Publisher document)
- Notebook Table of Contents (Word document)
Please feel free to take these documents and use them as templates for your health department's new employees' orientation.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Interactive Online Training Module
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Interactive Online Training Module, unveiled in November 2006, was developed by the Northwest Partnership in response to an overwhelming number of requests from health department staff in partnership counties to develop a training that would educate both new and current health department staff. Fifty-six North Carolina Health Departments representing 68 counties have used the tool as of May, 2008 not including a Georgia Health District. The interactive training is provided below, and is available to local health departments in North Carolina and other interested public health agencies.
Resources
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Guidance for Local Public Health Departments in North Carolina
This page, provided by the NC Division of Public Health, contains information about and links to HIPAA training events and changes to HSIS related to the implementation of HIPAA for local public health departments in North Carolina.
Tools Developed
HIPAA Interactive Online Training Module
The HIPAA Training Program is an interactive module designed to supplement agency specific HIPAA training. The HIPAA Training Program is divided into two sections: (1) Basic HIPAA Knowledge and (2) Safeguards and Best Practices. After each section is completed, there is a quiz to ensure that the employee has read and he/she certifies that the material was understood. A Certificate of Completion finishes the training module and serves as the printed record indicating HIPAA training was satisfactorily completed. The training should take about 30 minutes to an hour to complete. There is no charge for the HIPAA Interactive Training Module for Public Health Professionals.
- ATTENTION: PRIOR to beginning the training, please complete the Terms of Use and Disclosure (Word document) and return to Northwest Partnership Coordinator Candice C. DuVernois (contact information provided on the document).
Click here to access the HIPAA Training