Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service

Health Services Officer Professional Advisory Committee
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PHPAG ByLaws

  1. Name
  2. Purpose
  3. Objectives
  4. Voting Membership
  5. Leadership
  6. Operations and Procedures
  7. ByLaws Update and Approval

Article I
Name

The Public Health Professional Advisory Group shall be referred to as the PHPAG.

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Article II
Purpose

The Public Health Professional Advisory Group (PHPAG) provides advice and consultation to the Surgeon General through the Health Services Professional Advisory Committee (HSPAC) on issues relating to the professional practice and personnel activities of Commissioned Corps (CC) officers and Civil Service (CS) employees. The PHPAG provides similar advisory assistance to the Chief Professional Officer (CPO) and, upon request, to the Operating Divisions (OPDIV), Staffing Divisions (STAFFDIV), and non-Health Human Services (HHS) organizations that routinely employ USPHS personnel.

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Article III
Objectives

The PHPAG serves in a resource and advisory role in the coordination, development, training, and evaluation of activities related to the public health professional disciplines among Health Services Officers in the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) with the following specific objectives:

  1. To identify and facilitate the resolution of issues as they relate to the needs of the Public Health Officers.
  2. To identify personnel needs of the USPHS, as related to Public Health and to assist in meeting those needs through activities such as recruitment, mentoring, retention, training, utilization, and proper recognition of Public Health Officers.
  3. To support the recruitment and retention of officers serving in the five “pillars” as determined by the Assistant Secretary for Health.
  4. To develop position papers, statistical reports and/or guidelines where appropriate, in order to advise and comment on both personnel and professional development issues involving the Public Health Officers.
  5. To promote continuing education and acquisition of advanced degrees (e.g., PhD, DrPH) in order to provide opportunities for employment in all USPHS Operating Divisions and other health related programs (e.g. other federal/state agencies and international organizations).
  6. To review and provide recommendations concerning proposed or needed changes to appointment standards and billet descriptions in order to broaden the opportunities for Public Health Officers.
  7. To encourage individual membership involvement with professional organizations and certifications (American Public Health Association, National Board of Public Health Examiners and National Commission of Health Education Credentialing) and provide a vehicle for networking.
  8. To promote cooperation and communication among and between other public health professional disciplines.
  9. To promote all aspects of public health throughout the Operating Divisions and programs of the USPHS.
  10. To represent a diversity of public health disciplines that ensures the health and safety needs of the nation.

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Article IV
Voting Membership
  1. Eligibility: Members shall be full time active duty USPHS Commissioned Corps Officers in the Health Services Category with either a Master of Public Health (MPH) or current billet/position in public health (i.e., manager/supervisor, policy analyst, public health advisor, public health educator).
  2. All PHPAG voting members must meet the Division of Commissioned Corps Headquarters (CCHQ) Basic Readiness standards at the time they are nominated and appointed to the PHPAG and be in good standing with their agency (acceptable performance, no adverse actions, etc.) at the time they are nominated and selected as HSPAG voting members. These requirements remain in effect throughout an Officer’s term of service as an HSPAG voting member. Eligible voting members must be an assigned primary PAG member, as published on the Official PAG Roster that is managed by the HSPAC Chair and CPO. The official primary assigned PAG membership list is sent to each PAG chair, at a minimum, on an annual basis. Officers cannot serve in a voting membership role outside their primary assigned PAG as outlined in the Official PAG Roster.
  3. Size: The PHPAG shall have 10 Voting Members (members herein). Nominated and appointed by each of the Voting Members on a PAG. The 10 voting members include: The PAG Chair and 9 Subgroup Chairs.
  4. Participation: Members are expected to attend the majority of PHPAG General Membership Meetings, by telephone, or by video conference. If a voting member has two or more unexcused absences, his/her voting member status and privileges may be revoked. Voting members are required to alert the executive committee if they are unable to attend the PHPAG General Membership Meetings prior to the meeting, unless special circumstances occur. Even during special circumstances, voting members are required to notify the PHPAG Executive Committee as soon as possible regarding the reason for their absence from the PHPAG General Membership Meetings. Each time a PHPAG Voting Member cannot be present to participate, he/she must appoint an alternate who shall represent that officer, including proxy voting rights. Any Voting Member with two unexcused absences and who also fails to designate an alternate for these meetings will be asked to meet with the Executive Committee regarding the lack of accountability and participation. A third encounter will be deemed unacceptable, and the member will be asked to resign their position as a PHPAG Voting Member at the discretion of the PHPAG Executive Committee. Should the Executive Committee decide that voting member status and privileges require revocation, an official email or letter will be distributed to those officers who do not comply. Any voting member replacement(s) will be appointed by the Chair for the remainder of that officer’s term. The appointment will be based on the voting membership ranking for the most recent PHPAG elections. If no officers are available based on the most recent election results, the PHPAG may conduct an interim voting membership election.
  5. Responsibilities: PHPAG Voting Member Responsibilities: Members are responsible for serving in a leadership role (e.g., Chair or Subgroup Chairs) each year of their three- year term. Beginning on January 1st of their 1st year and ending on December 31st of the third year. Officers selected for voting member membership are responsible for: chairing one PAG Subgroup in their respective PAG, attending PAG voting member, HSPAC Leadership, and General meetings, collaborating, leading, and managing activities across other PAGs, HSPAG subgroups and other CC work groups/ committees, and discipline-related professional organizations. Providing leadership any comments on pending changes to the Commissioned Corps and HSPAC, and other PAG priorities as needed through the HSPAC, and other PAG priorities as needed through the HSPAC Chair and CPO. Once the voting member earned 30 days of service at the end of 3-year voting member cycle, the PAG chair through the HSPAC Awards Sub-Group will provide details of such service to the HSPAC Chair for recognition (e.g., Unit Commendation). The template can be obtained from the HSPAC Awards Subgroup.
  6. Terms of Appointment: Voting members will be selected for a three (3) year term. Terms will be staggered so that approximately half of the members’ terms will expire annually. Once a member has accumulated a lifetime total of six (6) years of service on the PHPAG, they are not eligible for reappointment. Priority for voting membership will be given to, “new voting members”. Terms of office may be served consecutively at the discretion of the PHPAG Executive Committee.
  7. Other Considerations:
    • Organizational representation: Participants shall be nominated and appointed from each of the Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS) Operating Divisions and from the multiple disciplines and organization roles to provide the range of experiences and perspectives necessary to address issues before the PHPAG. Consideration will also be given to diversity range of rank among the voting members.
    • Geographic consideration: Membership to the PHPAG will be actively solicited so that members stationed throughout various regions of the US are represented. PAG members will be actively solicited and provisions, such as teleconferences, will be made so officers stationed outside the (NCR) National Capital Region (e.g., Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland) and Atlanta, Georgia, can participate in meetings.
    • Gender and Minority Representation: Participants of different cultures, races, ethnicities, and genders shall be respected and welcomed. Efforts will be made to ensure that participants in the PHPAG represent the ethnic and gender diversity of its officers.
  8. Individuals are welcome to serve as volunteers on PHPAG and subgroups to assist with special projects and activities at the discretion of the PAG Chair and the subgroup chair. Volunteers have no voting rights.
  9. PHPAG General Membership Meetings are open to all Health Services Officers. Non-voting members can serve as PAG Subgroup co-chairs, if needed, for their primary assigned PAG at the discretion of the PAG Chair if the activities provide justification for multiple leadership roles. Officers participating in a PAG will be officially assigned to a PAG that appropriately aligns with their professional discipline and commissioning degree by the HSPAC Chair and CPO. All officers, including voting members, can participate in other activities or PAGs outside their primary assigned PAG. However, voting members can only serve in a voting member role in their primary or officially assigned PAG.

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Article V
Leadership  
  1. PHPAG Executive Committee (Officers): The PHPAG Executive Committee shall be composed of the Chairperson (Chair), Chairperson-Elect (Chair-Elect), and Executive Secretary, and at least one, but up to two Senior PHPAG Advisors to serve as consultants to the PHPAG, at the Chair’s discretion. The Executive Committee shall facilitate the execution of the vision, mission, and objectives developed by the PHPAG membership. Each officer shall be elected by the members of the PHPAG prior to the end of the calendar year for a term of office, as defined in the By-Laws, beginning on January 1. Only PHPAG voting members shall be eligible for nomination to the Executive Committee positions.
  2. Term of Appointment: In no case will any Executive Officer be allowed to serve more than 5 consecutive years as an Executive Officer.
  3. Emergency Elections: The PHPAG may hold emergency elections as needed to backfill any positions vacated as a result of resignation or other unforeseen situations.
  4. Duties of the Executive Officers are the following:
    • Role and Election of the PHPAG Chairperson: The PHPAG Chair facilitates, organizes, and maintains order in meetings of the General PHPAG Membership and meetings of the Executive Officers. The Chair is considered an ex-officio member of the HSPAC and is expected to attend the HSPAC meetings or designate a representative to attend. The Chair also acts as a liaison between the PHPAG and DHHS agency representatives. The Chair may choose to delegate another Executive Officer to serve as a PHPAG liaison to any DHHS agency, or any additional group or committee as needed.
    • Election and Term of PHPAG Chairperson: The PHPAG Chair shall be elected by the Voting Members as the Chair-Elect in the year prior to serving as Chair. The term of the Chair is one year. If the Chair-Elect is unavailable to serve as the Chair, the PHPAG may choose to waive the Chair-Elect requirement and directly elect a new Chair. Alternately, the Group may choose to re-elect the incumbent Chair if the Chair-Elect is unwilling or unable to progress to Chair in the subsequent year. Voting Member status and privileges will be extended for the Chair serving on the Executive Committee.
    • Role of PHPAG Chairperson-Elect: The role of the Chair-Elect includes acting as Chair in absence of Chair and acting as the official liaison to professional advisory groups and/or committees and other groups as assigned by the Chair. The Chair-Elect works closely with the Chair to learn the policies and procedures required to Chair the PHPAG. The Chair-Elect shall exercise all the rights and responsibilities that are granted to the Chair in the absence of the Chair.
    • Election and Term of the PHPAG Chair-Elect: The Chair-Elect shall be elected by the Voting Members. The Chair-Elect serves a one-year term and then transitions to the PHPAG Chair for 1 additional year. Voting Member status and privileges will be extended for the Chair-Elect person serving on the Executive Committee.
    • Role of the Executive Secretary:
      • Inform the PHPAG membership (via listserv or email) of meeting locations and conference line information.
      • Establish meeting agendas in collaboration with the Chair and distribute agendas to members.
      • Prepare and distribute minutes (a copy of approved minutes to the Chief HSO and HSPAC Chair) and maintain reports, attendance records, and official documents.
      • Maintain PHPAG membership roster and track attendance at all PHPAG meetings.
      • Serve as a member of the executive committee and provide feedback on leadership issues.
      • Election and Term of PHPAG Executive Secretary: The Executive Secretary shall be elected by the Voting Members. The Executive Secretary serves a one-year term, with an option to extend for 1 year only if agreeable by all Executive Officers. Voting Member status and privileges will be extended for the Secretary serving on the Executive Committee.
    • Role of the Senior Advisor: The Senior Advisor serves as a consultant to the PHPAG. The Chair of the PHPAG will nominate at least one, but up to two Senior Advisors at the beginning of the Chair’s term. Voting Members will confirm or disallow these nominations by majority vote during the first Voting Member meeting of the calendar year. This Senior Advisors must meet the following qualifications:
      • Must have Master of Public Health (MPH) degree or equivalent in the Health Services Category.
      • Must have at least 10 years of PHS service.
      • Be an active duty or retired PHS officer 0-5 and above.
      • Must have substantial leadership involvement in PHS activities
      Term of the Senior Advisors: The Senior Advisors serve along with the Chair that solicits his or her service and the appointment ends at the conclusion of the Chair’s term. Senior Advisors, however, may be reappointed annually with Voting Member approval, thus serving multiple consecutive terms.
    • Role of the Ex-Officio: The Ex-Officio/previous year past chair serves as a nonvoting member consultant to the PHPAG, providing guidance and historical context for the PHPAG.

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Article VI
Operations and Procedures

The Public Health PAG operations and procedures shall include the following:

    1. Operational Year: Calendar year January 1 - December 31.
    2. Frequency of Meetings: At least once per quarter. The Chair may call additional meetings as needed. Public Health PAG subgroups may meet more often, as needed.
    3. Agenda: A meeting agenda and appropriate background material will be made available to PHPAG members.
    4. Recording and Reporting: Minutes of each PHPAG meeting will be recorded and approved by the PHPAG. The PHPAG Secretary will maintain a permanent file of official minutes and reports.
    5. Voting: For PHPAG meetings, a quorum must be met (fifty percent plus one Voting Members) in order to conduct PHPAG business.
    6. Operating subgroups: The PHPAG Chair, working with the Executive Committee and voting membership may designate operating subgroups to accomplish its objectives. The voting membership must approve all changes to the operating subgroups. These subgroups will be organized and conduct business in a manner consistent with the PHPAG. The Chair of the PHPAG will appoint a Chair of each subgroup. Voting members are given priority and must be considered first when the Chair appoints subgroup chairs. However, co-chairs of subgroups may be nonvoting members. The operating subgroups may include but are not limited to: (1) Administrative Management: Solicit for new PAG members and manage the voting member nomination/selection process. Maintain the PAG Listserv and official membership roster (i.e., maintain an up-to-date list of all subscribers). (2) Awards (3) Communications: Collaborate with the HSPAC Communication Subgroup to communicate all HSPAC and PHS information and directly disseminate discipline-specific information to their membership. Maintain discipline-specific (post new documents, archive older documents, and keep all links up-to-date) on their PAG website and meet HSPAC deadlines. Responsible for the PAG newsletter, template management, developing and managing the PAG annual calendar of events that be posted on the HSPAC calendar. (4) Data and Evaluation: Provide data and analytics support to the PAG. Collaborate with the HSPAC Analytics Subgroup to develop, disseminate, and analyze surveys and other data from the PAG. (5) Education, Training, and Mentorship: Provide discipline-specific continuing education and trainings to ensure officers remain current in their discipline. Collaborate with the HSPAC Mentoring Subgroup to identify discipline-specific mentors based on several factors such as agency, gender, rank, Mentoring Program, discipline, geographic location, etc., as a component of the HSPAC (6) Policy: Conduct an annual review and provide comments on discipline-specific PHS appointment standards, licensure, certifications requirements, and other discipline specific needs. Address, revise, update, and recommend PAG/HSPAC/CC policy-related issues, and develop white papers and decision memos on behalf of the PAG to the HSPAC Policy and Procedures Subgroup. Review and update PAG SOP and provide input on revision of the Uniform PAG Bylaws each year. (7) Stakeholder and Community Engagement: Manage activities within the communities such as presentations at secondary schools and institutions of higher education, health fares, and other civic events. Foster and manage relationships with the professional organizations such as those represented by the membership in the PAG, sister military organizations, and academia. Share community and stakeholder engagement lessons learned for other PAGS.   (8) Technical Readiness: Determine what discipline- specific knowledge and skills an officer needs in order to successfully deploy based on their qualifying degree or discipline. PAG officers are expected to be able to effectively function during their deployment as their qualifying degree dictates hence, technical readiness. Serve as primary source of discipline-specialty information and training on response and deployment roles for the PAG, HSPAC, and CC. Provide discipline-specific training response and readiness training opportunities.  Disseminate information to the PAG on critical RedDog readiness policies and information through the HSPAC Readiness Subgroup and PAG Communication Subgroup/HSPAC Communication Subgroup. Initiate other readiness and response projects as assigned by the PAG Chair and HSPAC Readiness Subgroup. Collaborate and coordinate activities with the HSPAC Readiness Subgroup. (9) Recruitment and Retention Subgroup: Responsible for reviewing the application packet from potential candidates when there is an open application cycle in partnership with the HSPAC Recruitment and Retention Subgroup. Responsible for fielding and answering potential applicant questions. Collaborate and coordinate activities with the HSPAC Recruitment & Retention Subgroup.

Committees or workgroups may be formed as needed to address the multiple disciplines and current/emerging public health topics.

    1. Membership: The Membership Committee, or appointed subgroup, shall coordinate the Call for Voting Members nomination and selection process.
      • Solicitation: The PHPAG shall solicit applicants for Voting Membership through the HSPAC or PHPAG listserv, and other appropriate means.
      Mechanism for Nomination: Prospective PHPAG nominees may self-nominate, or may be nominated by another PHPAG or HSPAC member. Preference of Voting Membership shall be given to officers who have proven to be active non-voting participants in PHPAG committees and official meetings. In addition, all active duty voting members must meet the DCCPR Basic Readiness qualifications. The Membership Committee shall provide a rated list of the selected nominees to the Executive Committee. All application packets, regardless of nomination mechanism, must be postmarked on or before the nomination deadline for that operational year.
    2. Executive Committee: The Chair, Chair-Elect, and Secretary will be elected by the Voting Membership. A Membership Committee, or appointed subgroup shall coordinate the Call for Nominations and selection process.
      • Solicitation: The Membership Committee shall solicit PHPAG Voting Membership for the positions of Chair, Chair-Elect and Secretary.
      • Mechanism for Nomination: PHPAG Voting Members may self-nominate or may be nominated by another Voting Member. In addition, all active-duty executive committee members must meet the DCCPR Basic Readiness qualifications.
      • Prospective nominees shall provide to the PHPAG Membership Committee a letter of interest / intent.

The Membership Committee shall provide an electronic ballot to Voting Members for their selection. The Membership Committee shall provide the Executive Committee with the screen shot of final tally results. All letters of interest, regardless of nomination mechanism, must be postmarked on or before the nomination deadline for that operational year.

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Article VII
ByLaws Update and Approval

The PHPAG shall review its By-Laws every three years and recommend revisions to update its By-Laws as needed. Any revisions to the By-Laws must be reviewed and approved by the HS-PAC. If in question, the PHPAG By-Laws will be superseded by, and not conflict with, the HSPAC Charter and By-Laws. PHPAG members voting either in person or by a valid proxy is acceptable by email using rules of time and date of vote submissions. To vote on the approval or update of the bylaws, an officer can be a voting member of either HSPAC or the PHPAG, but in no case can hold two votes. The voting member must recuse himself or herself from voting on the PHPAG bylaws during the HSPAC vote. Issues requiring a PHPAG member vote but not reaching a quorum (fifty percent plus one) shall be brought to the HSPAC for resolution.

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Last updated on February 2022

Page Last Modified on 2/28/2022

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