Ontario Council on Community Health Accreditation

Promoting accountability and excellence in Public Health programs and services throughout Ontario since 1981

The Ontario Council on Community Health Accreditation (OCCHA) is an independent agency directed by a Board whose members are appointed by professional associations to promote accountability and excellence in public health.

OCCHA UPDATE ON CHANGES TO THE ACCREDITATION PROCESS AND STANDARDS

The Board of Directors would like to thank all those who participated in the evaluation process for the 2009 accreditation standards. Your feedback was very much appreciated and was integral in the completion of the revised standards. The new standards have been updated to incorporate the Ontario Public Health Standards and to more clearly reflect the quality components within OCCHA's quality framework for public health units. The 2009 Accreditation Principles, Standards and Components were approved by the OCCHA Board of Directors in October 2008 and were formally implemented in January 2009. The OCCHA Board of Directors is currently completing the review and revision of all accreditation documents, including the agency questionnaire, surveyor worksheets, introduction to accreditation and other supporting documentation. As these are approved, they will be posted to the OCCHA website.

As previously announced, the OCCHA Board of Directors has formally approved a standardized accreditation process and award, which was also implemented in January 2009. The standardized accreditation process will be based on a three year cycle, will include an annual review component, and will be linked to the OCCHA Quality framework for public health units. The resulting accreditation process will also be streamlined to facilitate ongoing participation in the process, through the development of documentation checklists and enhanced web pages for accredited health units. The accreditation process working group continues to develop the protocols and tools for the standardized accreditation process, including updates to the on-site survey review.

A table entitled 2009 Changes to the OCCHA Accreditation Standards outlining all changes made to the standards has been developed for accredited health units to facilitate the transition to new standards.

Updates on process changes will be posted to the OCCHA website as they become available. Should you have any questions regarding the 2009 accreditation process or documents, please contact Meighan Finlay at meighanfinlay@occha.org

OCCHA’s Mandate

To establish, review and revise accreditation standards related to governance, administration and program planning, implementation monitoring and evaluation.
To enhance knowledge through consultation and shared experience.
To measure agency performance against peer-set standards, provide comprehensive reports and confer accreditation awards.
To promote and facilitate continuous quality improvement in public health units through consultation across Ontario health units.
To work in partnership with other community health organizations and relevant provincial ministries, to promote excellence in public health programs and services.

Through the accreditation process, OCCHA provides an independent, voluntary, peer evaluation of the administrative and operational aspects of local public health agencies, including a review of program planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.