Scotland County board told some members still need accreditation training as panel approves strategic plan and policies

Amanda Holland briefed the Scotland County Board of Health on outstanding accreditation requirements and asked the board to approve the department's strategic plan and related policies.

Holland told members the board must complete two training modules—"Intro to Public Health" and "Roles and responsibilities for board of health members"—which are tied to accreditation activity 36.2 and for which the county manager had previously distributed links. "We are still in need of those training certificates of completion for the accreditation," Holland said, adding that a target date set for completion had been January and that certificates remain missing for some members.

Holland asked the board to approve the public health strategic plan dated 2024'2027 so staff can submit it as evidence for accreditation. She said the county plans to consolidate the public health and health and human services strategic plans and target completing a consolidated plan by July 1. Holland also reviewed a packet of administrative policies and procedures the board was asked to adopt for accreditation purposes, including a workforce development plan, a policy-on-policies, a board conflict-of-interest policy and statement, and orientation and ongoing training policy.

Board members offered practical help to get members through the trainings: Speaker 5 said they had helped one or two commissioners complete the modules and offered to set up a laptop in their office to assist others. The board moved to approve the strategic plan and the packet of policies as presented; the motion carried by voice vote.

Next steps Holland described included collecting outstanding training certificates and submitting the approved strategic plan and policies as part of the accreditation evidence package. No specific timeline for submission beyond the July consolidation target was stated.