How "other" health departments are navigating public health accreditation in the USAPIs

Palau began working towards accreditation with the implementation of the National Public Health Infrastructure Initiative program in 2010.  In 2013 Palau completed an organizational self-assessment against the Public Health Accreditation Board’s standards and measures with technical assistance from the Association for State and Territorial Health Officials.  During this process we identified several "national" standards and measures which may or may not apply to our health department as a non-state, non-local, and non-tribal entity.  This forces us to reflect on how we, as an independent nation, compare to other health depatmetns in the United States. Under the Compact of Free Association establish withe the U.S., Palau receives a majority of their health-funding from Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and therefore have programatic structures similar to many health departments in the U.S.  However, other unique challenges face Palau--and other U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI)--including larger infrascture design.  Palau recognizes these challenges and works with regional and national partners to overcome them as they strive to lead the USAPIs in public health accreditation efforts.  This session will focus on challenges that Palau has faced through preparing for accreditation and share strategies on how these may be overcome.