PHP Fact Sheet

National Public Health Improvement Initiative (NPHII) ‒ 2014
What is NPHII?
The National Public Health Improvement Initiative (NPHII)
supports 73 health departments or their bona fide agents to
● Improve management of day-to-day work
● Prepare for accreditation
● Use successful practices and share these results with
others
See map on reverse for more information about funded
entities.

What type of activities does this
initiative fund and promote?
NPHII grantees work on
● Efficiency: Saving time or money on program services
and operations
● Effectiveness: Using practices that have been shown
to work or making services and programs available to
more people
● Accreditation readiness: Completing projects to prepare
for application to the Public Health Accreditation Board
for national accreditation
NPHII also supports health department staff in making
changes that help all of their programs achieve better
health outcomes. For example, health department staff
might change the way they manage grants so the same
number of people can get more work done. They might
provide training to fellow staff to help them do a better job.
They might also develop new technology systems to help
manage finances, track diseases, or prepare for emergencies.

What types of projects do NPHII
grantees lead?
Performance management and quality
improvement
● Build new performance management systems or
improve existing systems to use resources more
efficiently
● Identify and carry out projects that will help save time
and money
● Train staff to use quality improvement tools in public
health program activities
● Integrate evidence-based practices into public health
programs

Accreditation readiness
● Assess their organization to see where changes are
needed to meet national accreditation standards
● Develop plans and documents for accreditation, such as
a community health assessment, a community health
improvement plan, and an agency strategic plan

Collaboration
● Work with and learn from other health departments and
national partner organizations
● Collaborate with other public heatlh jurisdictions to
share services or resources
● Establish partnerships with other public and private
organizations, such as hospitals, chambers of commerce,
and environmental quality agencies, to advance shared
goals and help people live healthier lives

NPHII grantees also work with each other and other public
or private organizations to maximize limited resources.
NPHII is funded by and supports the Prevention and Public Health Fund of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act of 2010, the nation’s health reform law. It also supports the Healthy People 2020 focus area of addressing public
health infrastructure (http://www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/).
Through the Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support, CDC has awarded $32.5 million to health
departments or their bona fide agents for Year 4 of NPHII ($141 million total for all funding years).
Learn more about NPHII at www.cdc.gov/stltpublichealth/nphii/index.html.
Learn more about public health accreditation at www.phaboard.org.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support

NPHII Awardees & Year 4 Funding
Legend

WA

OR

MN

ID

IL

UT
CO

OK

RMI
FSM

NC
SC

MS

AL

FL

AK

HI

US Virgin Islands

CT

Received Year One funding only
Did not apply for funding

MD
DC

Local Health Departments
Received Year One, Year Two,
Year Three, and Year Four funding

Tribal Organizations
Received Year One, Year Two,
Year Three, and Year Four funding
Received Year One and
Year Two funding only

GA

LA

TX

Guam

PIHOA

VA

KY

AR

NJ

DE

WV

TN

NM

}

OH

IN

MO

KS

AZ

RP

MA
RI

PA

IA

NE

NV

CNMI

NY

MI

WY

AS

Received Year One, Year Two,
Year Three, and Year Four funding

VT NH
WI

SD

CA

States, DC, Territories, and
Pacific Islands Health Departments

ME

ND

MT

Puerto Rico

Abbreviations
AS: American Samoa
CNMI: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
RP: Republic of Palau
RMI: Republic of the Marshall Islands
FSM: Federated States of Micronesia
PIHOA: Pacific Islands Health Officers’ Association

What are some successes NPHII grantees have had in the first three years?
Efficiency
● The Federated States of Micronesia has reduced sample processing time from seven days to one day with a new laboratory
information system.
● The Houston Department of Health and Human Services reduced customer wait time at the Vital Records Office by 50%
after implementing new policies.
● The Minnesota Department of Health reduced the amount of time for drinking water compliance processes from 243
weeks to 52 weeks.

Effectiveness
● The Connecticut Department of Public Health quadrupled the number of its databases that collect standardized
sociodemographic information that is consistent with federal Office of Management and Budget standards.
● The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals eliminated the backlog of food inspections and reduced the cost of
each inspection by 30%.
● The Virginia Department of Health increased enrollment in its Medicaid-funded comprehensive family planning program
sixfold over two years, from 6,209 women to more than 36,000.

Working together for accreditation readiness
● The State of Alaska Division of Public Health and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium convened a crossjurisdictional, multi-disciplinary group that collaborated on developing the Healthy Alaskans 2020 plan, a statewide health
assessment and improvement plan. This is the first known instance of a state government and tribal entity uniting to set
shared health goals and a joint implementation plan to reach those goals.
● The Kansas Department of Health and Environment collaborated with the State Office of Rural Health to support minigrants for collaborative community health assessment work among hospitals and health departments.
● The Washington State Department of Health established three Public Health Performance Management Centers for Public
Health Excellence and provided mini-grants to 29 local health jurisdictions.