141st APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

281101
Legal lens of strategic planning


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Jessica Riccardo, MPH, Administration, New Orleans Health Department, New Orleans, LA
Matthew Penn, JD, MLIS, Public Health Law Program - Office for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Lisa Caucci, JD, Office for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support, Public Health Law Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA
Law is a critical tool for public health departments to achieve maximum impact on top priorities. Including analysis of state and local code into the strategic planning process can help departments bring focus to their legal scope, highlight important legal responsibilities, and identify opportunities to advance important health initiatives.

As in many communities, in 2012 the New Orleans municipal code included provisions established in earlier decades under an outdated public health model. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Law Program (PHLP) guided NOHD in a review of the local code and co-facilitated meetings between NOHD and other government entities responsible for health provisions in the law. After these meetings, the PHLP prepared a report with in-depth analysis of local laws and comparative examples of legal language from similar communities across the country. NOHD utilized the outputs of these meetings and the analysis as part of its strategic planning process for accreditation. The department used the legal analysis to highlight opportunities to adjust the local code to reflect appropriate authorities and responsibilities for the department based on current capacity and practice. The process has clarified roles and responsibilities among entities and strengthened relationships with partners.

NOHD finalized its strategic plan in January 2013 and is actively pursuing updates to the code that will support advancement of its main strategic priorities.

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Public health administration or related administration
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Explain how legal reviews can contribute to health department strategic planning processes Describe a process for meeting PHAB Standard 6.1- “Review existing laws and work with governing entities and elected/appointed officials to update as needed.” Discuss the role of law and policy in strategic planning

Keyword(s): Local Public Health Agencies, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I coordinated the legal review process for the New Orleans Health Department and am responsible for managing the process to update the local code based on the department’s strategic planning decisions.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4269.0: Public Health Law Poster Session II