During the month of April, the Project Public Health Ready (PPHR) Recognition Reception took place in conjunction with the 2017 Preparedness Summit in Atlanta, GA. This reception was hosted to celebrate the accomplishments of the newly PPHR recognized and re-recognized agencies. Mr. Claude-Alix Jacob, President of the NACCHO Board, and Ms. Melissa Marquis, chair of NACCHO’s Preparedness Planning, Outcomes and Measurement Workgroup, took part in the ceremony as each agency received a plaque to commemorate their achievement. The PPHR team also held a meet and greet luncheon at the Preparedness Summit for any agency interested in pursuing PPHR as well as any individuals interested in becoming a national reviewer. State leads and current reviewers were also invited to the luncheon to share their PPHR review experiences. Finally, at the Preparedness Summit, NACCHO staff alongside two national reviewers presented during a 90 learning session focusing on the creation of a new PPHR framework and how to assess a support response agency’s planning and response capabilities.

NACCHO staff continued to provide technical assistance to agencies undergoing the re-submission process and to agencies submitting applications in fall 2017.

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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.