During the month of October, NACCHO staff held the Annual Project Public Health Ready (PPHR) Review Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana from October 18-19. At the meeting, 51 PPHR reviewers came together to finalize their evaluations and requests for additional evidence for the 42 PPHR applications that are currently under review. During the meeting, reviewers also provided NACCHO with feedback on the PPHR review process and criteria based on their experiences. Reviewer requests for additional evidence will be sent out on November 7 and applicants have until November 10 to edit their applications and return them for reassessment.

After the PPHR National Review Meeting, NACCHO staff hosted a focus group to discuss regional preparedness and PPHR. Data gathered from the focus group will help NACCHO develop criteria and standards for future regional applicants. As part of PPHR’s ongoing evolution, NACCHO is exploring the development of a PPHR regional framework to strengthen future applications and provide additional education and assistance to new cycles of applicants and reviewers.

In addition to proving technical assistance to the 2016 applicants, state leads and reviewers, NACCHO staff have has begun working with prospective 2017 applicants as they begin preparing for the next review cycle. NACCHO continues to promote PPHR recognition and PPHR re-recognition to prospective applicants for future review cycles.

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Project Public Health Ready (PPHR) is a criteria-based training and recognition program that assesses local health department (LHD) capacity and capability to plan for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies. PPHR aims to protect the public’s health and strengthen the public health infrastructure by equipping local health departments with sustainable tools to plan, train, and exercise using a continuous quality improvement model. Visit the NACCHO PPHR webpage to learn more about applying to become PPHR recognized or an applicant reviewer.