135A.5  Governmental public health evaluation committee.
  1.  A governmental public health evaluation committee is established to develop and implement the evaluation of the governmental public health system and voluntary accreditation program. The committee shall meet at least quarterly. The committee shall consist of no fewer than eleven members and no more than thirteen members. The members shall be appointed by the director of the department. The director may solicit and consider recommendations from professional organizations, associations, and academic institutions in making appointments to the committee.
  2.  Committee members shall not be members of the governmental public health advisory council.
  3.  Committee members shall serve for a term of two years and may be reappointed for a maximum of three consecutive terms. Initial appointment shall be in staggered terms. Vacancies shall be filled for the remainder of the original appointment.
  4.  The membership of the committee shall satisfy all of the following requirements:
  a.  At least one member representing each of Iowa’s six public health regions. Each representative shall be an employee or administrator of a designated local public health agency or a member of a local board of health. Such members shall be appointed to ensure expertise in the areas of communicable and infectious diseases, environmental health, injury prevention, healthy behaviors, and emergency preparedness.
  b.  Two members who are representatives of the department.
  c.  A representative of the state hygienic laboratory at the university of Iowa.
  d.  At least two representatives from academic institutions which grant undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in public health or other health-related fields.
  e.  At least one economist who has demonstrated experience in public health, health care, or a health-related field.
  f.  At least one research analyst.
  5.  The committee may utilize other relevant public health expertise when necessary to carry out its roles and responsibilities.
  6.  The committee shall do all of the following:
  a.  Develop and implement processes for evaluation of the governmental public health system and the voluntary accreditation program.
  b.  Collect and report baseline information for organizational capacity and public health service delivery based on the Iowa public health standards prior to implementation of the voluntary accreditation program on January 2, 2012.
  c.  Evaluate the effectiveness of the accrediting entity and the voluntary accreditation process.
  d.  Evaluate the appropriateness of the Iowa public health standards and develop measures to determine reliability and validity.
  e.  Determine what process and outcome improvements in the governmental public health system are attributable to voluntary accreditation.
  f.  Assure that the evaluation process is capturing data to support key research in public health system effectiveness and health outcomes.
  g.  Annually submit a report to the department by July 1.
  h.  Form and utilize subcommittees as necessary to carry out the duties of the committee.
2009 Acts, ch 182, §119, 126; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §28; 2011 Acts, ch 63, §34