Public Health Practitioner Certification

“We are committed to building a competent workforce by offering competency-based certification to public health practitioners.”

Public Health Practitioner Certification Board Members:

President:  Elizabeth (Beth) Squires

Vice-President:  Lenore Killam

Treasurer:  Don Kauerauf

Secretary:  Jamie Byrd

The Public Health Practitioner Certification Board, Inc. consists of eight members.  The Bylaws specify the following member appointments:               

Two members shall be appointed from the membership of the Illinois Public Health Association: Dale Bainter; Doug King

Two members shall be appointed from the membership of the Illinois Association of Public Health Administrators (IAPHA):  Jerrod Welch; Jamie Byrd

Two members shall be appointed from the field of public heatlh-related academia in Illinois: Elizabeth Squires; Lenore Killam

Two members shall be appointed from the field of public health emergency preparedness and management:  Don Kauerauf; David Hopper

Application

To apply for certification, you must have the following minimum requirements:

1. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
2. At least three years of administrative and three years of supervisory experience in the public or private health sector (these can occur during the same time period) *for PHA certification only
   1. Administrative experience relates to planning, directing, and coordinating activities that help an organization run efficiently.

You will be asked to provide the following information in your application:

1. Evidence of fulfilling specific competencies through either experience or documented educational achievement (or a combination of both.)

   1. All competencies must be fulfilled for the Board to accept the application for review.

2. CV or Resume
3. Official copy of transcripts

Attestation of Competencies

The documentation verifying your competency-based experience should be completed by attester(s) – credible individuals who are familiar with your work experience, who can verify competency and provide specific examples of activities in which you demonstrated a specific competency.

Competencies:

Public Health Administrator: public health practice; community health assessment; public health policy, advocacy and law; program development and evaluation; and, public health administration.

Emergency Response Coordinator: public health practice; community health assessment; public health policy, advocacy and law; program development and evaluation; public health preparedness and response; environmental health; applied epidemiology; and infectious disease preparedness and response.

Application Fee:

For Illinois applicants, the $175 application fee is good for one year. If more than a year passes before all the requirements are fulfilled, there is a $100 re-application fee to reexamine the documentation of incomplete sections. Other fees include:

• Replacement of certificate - $50
• Renewal of certificate (every 3 years) - $125
• Review of inactive status - $175

Please Note: Fees for out-of-state applicants are set at two times the fee for Illinois applicants (for each fee category).

Recertification:

Recertification is required every three years with a minimum of 90 contact hours of continuing education (CE) credits. A contact hour is defined as 60 minutes of attendance. Evidence of CE credits must be submitted and approved by the Board.

Certification must be renewed every three years. Evidence of completion of 90 contact hours of Board-approved continuing education or 6 semester hours of academic credit in public health-related subjects must be submitted with the renewal application. Certification status becomes "Inactive" upon failure to renew. The certificate will clearly state the expiration date. A lapsed certificate may only be renewed after the 90 contact hours of education have been completed.

Recertification Continuing Education Tracking Sheet

Questions?

Contact Krissy Roseberry, kroseberry@ipha.com