September 9, 2025, Press Release from the Putnam County Health Department:
OTTAWA, Ohio — The Putnam County Health Department today announced it has successfully completed a review process to maintain national accreditation status through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). In maintaining its accreditation status for another five years, the Putnam County Health Department has demonstrated that it meets PHAB’s quality standards and measures and has the capacity to continue to evolve, improve and advance to continue improving the health of the residents of Putnam County.
The non-profit PHAB works to advance and transform public health practice by championing performance improvement, strong infrastructure, and innovation. PHAB’s accreditation program, which receives support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sets standards against which the nation’s governmental public health departments can continuously improve the quality of their services and performance.
“We are so pleased to again be recognized by PHAB for achieving national standards that foster effectiveness and promote continuous quality improvement," said Kim Rieman, Health Commissioner. “We hope this announcement will reassure our community, partner organizations, funders, and elected officials that the services we provide are as responsive as possible to the needs of our community.
The Putnam County Health Department achieved national initial accreditation status through PHAB in March 2019, after undergoing a rigorous, multi-faceted, peer-reviewed assessment process to ensure it met a set of quality standards and measures. Today’s announcement goes a step further by demonstrating that the Putnam County Health Department has the capacity to become increasingly effective at improving the health of the community.
"We are pleased to see the Putnam County Health Department along with many others, successfully maintaining their five-year PHAB accreditation," said PHAB President and CEO Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, MD, MPH, FACEP. "This demonstrates that accreditation is not just a one-time achievement but an ongoing commitment to excellence. By maintaining accreditation, these health departments reaffirm their dedication to continuous improvement and community health."
Often called the “backbone” of the public health system, public health departments are on the front lines of communities’ efforts to protect and promote health and prevent disease and injury. PHAB-accredited health departments demonstrate great leadership by placing their work for peer review, with the goal of using the feedback obtained during the process to improve the services they provide to their communities.
About the Putnam County Health Department
The Putnam County Health Department, works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Putnam County. Learn more about the Putnam County Health Department at www.putnamhealth.com For more information, please contact Kim Rieman at kim.rieman@putnamhealth.com or via phone at 419-523-5608 ext 102.
About the Public Health Accreditation Board
The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) was created to serve as the national public health accrediting body and is jointly funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Vital Records/Health Statistics accreditation is funded, in part, by the National Center for Health Statistics. The development of national public health department accreditation has involved, and is supported by, public health leaders and practitioners from the national, state, local, Tribal, and territorial levels. For more information, contact PHAB Communications at communications@phaboard.org. Learn more about PHAB and accreditation at www.phaboard.org.
