Accreditation and QI, South Carolina
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The Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), the lead governmental health and environmental organization in South Carolina, has had extensive experience with quality improvement (QI) and accreditation activities since 1977. The DHEC state office and all eight public health regional units have been accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP), making South Carolina the only state to have all of its health departments CHAP-accredited. CHAP accreditation recognizes excellence in community health practice for community-based healthcare organizations. DHEC has also conducted the Baldrige National Quality Program assessment, which resulted in the implementation of an improvement plan, as well as the establishment of statewide and regional continuous QI coordinating committees. In 2007, DHEC launched a statewide Performance Management System, where the central office (state level) and the public health regions (local level) measure their performance in organizational functions and program delivery, and develop QI action plans designed to improve upon their performance. This system emerged after years of planning, assessment, and QI activities that have been undertaken by health departments across the state. In 2008, South Carolina was chosen to participate in the Multi-State Learning Collaborative (MLC) project's third phase, Lead States in Public Health Quality Improvement, which assesses QI strategies to enhance the work of public health departments. DHEC leads this initiative in partnership with the University of South Carolina's Center for Health Services and Policy Research.
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