Clay County Public Health Center (CCPHC) has been recognized by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) for its ability to plan for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies.

*Emergency Response Coordinator Wennekota Tarama (center) accepts the Project Public Health Ready award on behalf of Clay County Public Health during the 2026 Preparedness Summit in Baltimore in April.*

CCPHC demonstrated these capabilities by meeting the comprehensive preparedness benchmarks required by Project Public Health Ready (PPHR), a unique partnership between NACCHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The health center joins a cohort of more than 550 local health departments across the country that have been distinguished for excellence in preparedness through PPHR, either individually or as part of a region. CCPHC is the fifth agency in Missouri to earn this recognition.

“I am extremely proud of our team for the work they put in to earning Project Public Health Ready recognition,” said Clay County Director of Public Health Darrell Meinke. “It took a lot of time and commitment, and I hope it shows our community our dedication to serving them well, especially in the case of a public health crisis. We will always be ready to quickly and effectively respond.”

PPHR recognition confirms that Clay County Public Health has a thorough and coordinated emergency response plan in place and that staff have the training to protect the health of the community during an emergency. Local health departments recognized by PPHR undergo a rigorous evaluation by peer review to assess their ability to meet a set of national standards for public health preparedness. These standards align with federal government requirements and other national best practices.

PPHR's criteria elements are organized into 3 goals, including:

All-hazards preparedness planning,
Workforce capacity development,
Quality improvement through exercises and responses and a comprehensive exercise plan.

Within the 313 measures submitted by CCPHC, 301 were marked as Fully Met, with only 12 being Partially Met and zero being Not Met.

“Public health preparedness planning, response, and recovery begins at the local level. Local health departments play an essential role in creating healthy, resilient communities that can respond to and recover from disasters.” said Lori T. Freeman, Chief Executive Officer. “NACCHO commends Clay County Public Health for being a model of public health emergency preparedness.”

For more information on Project Public Health Ready, including recognized sites, project tools, and resources, visit http://www.naccho.org/PPHR.

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