Wallace Appointed to National Steering Committee

Harvey Wallace (Health, Physical Education and Recreation) has been appointed to a national steering committee representing the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH). The committee will undertake a project titled “Exploring Accreditation,” which will help determine a national policy for supporting a voluntary accreditation program for local public health agencies.

The committee’s main focus will be to develop definitive recommendations regarding how a voluntary accreditation system could be established in the United States and whether one is needed. The members, who hail from all over the nation, will congregate via three or four face-to-face interactions, as well as several teleconferences.

Wallace has spent the last decade involved in various projects for NALBOH. He said he believes the project is important for the nation.

“The feds were really pushing for this, and the idea for it was driven by a need to increase our nation’s health preparedness,” he said. “Our goal will be to develop a set of common standards for state and local health systems.”

The committee’s recommendations will be presented in one year. They will be based on research of four workgroups: governance and implementation, standards development, financing and incentives, and research and evaluation.

After his work with the steering committee is finished in August, Wallace plans to “wait for the next project, which will most likely be bringing Michigan into compliance, if in fact we accomplish our goal and implement a common set of standards among the states.”