Joint Commission Behavioral Health Update
January 2017
In This Issue:

19 Years of Service
Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Healthcare!
Happy 2018 to all of you!
 
This month, we are proud to commence our 19th year serving the behavioral healthcare industry. We have now worked with nearly 300 organizations  nationwide and are very gratified with the relationships we've forged with our clients!  We pledge to continue to support your regulatory compliance efforts this year.
 
With that goal in mind, we are providing updates this month on some important topics for psychiatric hospitals and behavioral healthcare organizations. Our first article covers the latest information on ligature risks in both psychiatric hospital settings and non-hospital BH settings. Our second article provides an update for psychiatric hospitals on the new pain management standards that went into effect 1/1/18.

We value your feedback on the newsletter. Please send us your comments and tell us what topics you would like to see in future issues. We look forward to hearing from you! Also, feel free to to your colleagues.

Best regards for a happy, healthy, and fulfilling New Year! 

Anne Barrins
President/CEO
Expecting your TJC Survey in 2018?
Contact us now to schedule your mock survey. Many TJC surveys are occurring "early" so make sure to schedule your mock survey enough in advance to address our findings and ensure survey success!
1-877-546-7206
Tip of the Month
The 2018 Survey Activity Guide has been published. It's an important resource when preparing for your survey. There are new requirements for the Documents List in the areas of Emergency Management and EOC as well as some other changes. So, carefully review the "What's New for 2018" section of the guide to ensure your survey readiness.
Why Choose
Barrins & Associates?
"Our Barrins & Associates consultants were the perfect fit for us. They were so knowledgeable about TJC standards and the current survey climate and also appreciated the unique challenges facing our hospital. They offered many ideas for enhancing the quality of care we provide. It was an excellent experience for us and we plan to use Barrins & Associates on a regular basis for our hospitals.

Mary Jane Krebs, RN, FACHE
President, Spring Harbor Hospital
Senior VP, Intensive Service Line of Maine Behavioral Healthcare
Surveying Ligature Risks
Guidance from CMS and TJC
Psychiatric hospitals and inpatient psychiatric units of medical/surgical hospitals continue to grapple with the challenge of eliminating suicide risks in their environment and how this will be evaluated during TJC surveys. In December, CMS released a memo on this topic. Likewise, the January 2018 issue of TJC Perspectives contains recommendations regarding the prevention of suicide in non-hospital behavioral health settings.
Continue Reading >
Pain Management Standards
New For Hospitals
TJC's new pain management standards are effective January 1, 2018, for all hospitals including psychiatric hospitals. As the 2018 surveys unfold, we expect to see significant emphasis on these new requirements. The following is a summary of key provisions of the new standards.
Continue Reading >
NEW CLIENTs
Barrins & Associates is pleased to welcome six new clients:  
Anchor Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, Cedar Springs Hospital in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Generations Healthcare Network headquartered in Lincolnwood, Illinois, Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta, Maine, The Pavilion at Williamsburg Place in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, and Sobriety Solutions in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania and Sicklerville, New Jersey.   We are pleased to be working with these clients on accreditation preparation and continuous regulatory readiness. 
Congratulations corner!
Congratulations to our client Riverside Recovery in Tampa, Florida, who recently achieved initial Joint Commission accreditation.
Barrins & Associates provides Joint Commission and CMS consulting services for the Behavioral Healthcare industry. Our clients include psychiatric hospitals and freestanding Behavioral Healthcare organizations. We specialize in providing Survey Preparation and Continuous Survey Readiness services for the Behavioral Healthcare industry. Barrins & Associates was founded by Anne Barrins who was a Joint Commission surveyor for 13 years.

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