Norwalk Health Dept. To Diagnose City

The Norwalk Health Department is one of 12 local agencies nationwide receiving a grant to help the department study public health in the city and figure out how to improve it.

The project, financed with a $35,000 grant, will then be used to get the Health Department accredited. Norwalk's is the only health department in New England to get the grant.

The money from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) will help the agency prepare the “community health assessment” and “community health improvement plan” which are required to gain accreditation.

“The community health assessment will identify our strengths and opportunities to improve,” said Tim Callahan, Norwalk’s director of health.

What a health improvement plan could include

If, for example, high rates of obesity and diabetes are found in the health assessment, the health improvement plan could include:

     ● an educational campaign aimed at increasing awareness of the health risks posed by obesity and diabetes

     ● screenings to detect diabetes and determine obesity

     ● working with restaurants to develop healthy, low-fat, low-calorie menu options

     ● developing bike lanes

     ● other creative strategies

Mathematically, the grant money equates to $2.50 for each resident of Norwalk, but the grant’s beneficiaries are not intended to be individuals but rather the public-at-large.

“Public health is aimed at populations rather than individuals,” Callahan said.

Pioneering in Accreditation

The study and plan should help the Health Department apply for accreditation with a new national nonprofit body, the Public Health Accreditation Board. If accredited, the department would become one of the first municipal health departments in the nation to become accredited as a public health agency.

Callahan said the department expects to apply for accreditation in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The application to the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) requires a strategic plan outlining how the agency intends to accomplish its goals.

PHAB, which has won the endorsement of the Center for Disease Control and is funded through the federal government, launched nationwide this year. Accreditation will be granted for five-year terms to qualifying applicants.

“The ultimate goal of an accreditation program is to improve the public’s health through improved quality and performance of public health departments,” says PHAB’s website.

Accredited public health departments gain credibility among elected officials and the public and is a way to demonstrate accountability as well, according to PHAB.

Norwalk's competitive edge for the grant

The Health Department will also be partnering with to achieve the accreditation.

“We have worked closely with Norwalk Hospital on a variety of projects, such as education programs on Lyme disease and a nutrition program at Jefferson Elementary School,” Callahan said. “We also partnered with Norwalk Hospital on a community health assessment in 2000.”

Callahan has been an active participant in PHAB’s development of its accreditation evaluation program.

That experience, plus the past partnerships with Norwalk Hospital, gave the Norwalk Health Departmnent a leg up in the grant-application process, Callahan said.

"The Norwalk Health Department demonstrated a clear commitment to engage with a broad spectrum of partners in the public schools, housing authority, Community Health Center, Chamber of Commerce and United Way and others in the community," said Lauren Shirey, a NACCHO official who participated in the grant awards.

Deanna D’Amore, a full-time staffer of the Norwalk Health Department, will be project coordinator. Her position is funded by a combination of grants.