TJC AND CMS NEWS FOR THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

April 2022

Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Health! Spring is arriving throughout the country and COVID hospitalization rates are declining. Good news on both fronts!   The Joint Commission has committed to catching up on overdue surveys by the end of 2022. So, continuous readiness is as important as ever. To support those efforts, we’re covering two important topics this month.   Our first article is an update on TJC’s current survey scheduling and their plan for future survey scheduling.   Our second article covers the topic of Preliminary Denial of Accreditation and how to respond. We’re featuring this topic since we’ve seen several organizations with PDA decisions over the past year.  We value your feedback on the newsletter. Please send us your comments and tell us what topics you'd like to see in future issues. We look forward to hearing from you! Also, feel free to forward this newsletter to your colleagues. Stay safe and healthy! Anne Barrins President/CEO

In This Issue: Joint Commission Surveys Getting Back on Schedule Preliminary Denial of Accreditation: How to Respond New Clients Tip of the Month

JOINT COMMISSION SURVEYS GETTING BACK ON SCHEDULE Be prepared! Joint Commission surveys are getting back on schedule. The pandemic is easing up in many counties across the country. As a result, TJC is catching up on surveys. TJC is catching up on triennial surveys in all programs including the Hospital Accreditation Program and the Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Program. Indeed, they plan to be caught up by the end of 2022. TJC still uses COVID data as input for scheduling. However, TJC now ... Continue Reading > PRELIMINARY DENIAL OF ACCREDITATION HOW TO RESPOND Your Joint Commission survey ended 10 days ago. TJC just posted your final report. The decision is Preliminary Denial of Accreditation (PDA.) Not what you were hoping for. So, what exactly does PDA mean? And, equally important, what should you do next? The good news: There’s definitely a path back to full accreditation after a PDA. We’ve helped many organizations do just that. The challenge is ... Continue Reading > NEW CLIENTS Barrins & Associates is pleased to welcome our new client Idaho State Hospital West located in Nampa, Idaho. State Hospital West is part of the Idaho Dept. of Health & Welfare and provides inpatient psychiatric treatment to Idaho’s youth ages 12 through 17. State Hospital West will be seeking initial Joint Commission accreditation and we’re pleased to support them in achieving that goal.   Learn More About Our New Clients >

Your Next TJC Survey May Be Sooner Than You Think Be aware! If your last TJC survey was late due to the pandemic, your next triennial survey is based on your pre-pandemic due date. So, your next survey may be sooner than you think. Contact us now to schedule your mock survey as our schedule is tightly booked.  1-877-546-7206 TIP OF THE MONTH Check out the April 2022 issue of Joint Commission Perspectives for the article Ligature Risks in the Physical Environment. Nothing new in terms of the NPSG 15 requirements but it’s an excellent recap of TJC’s guidance on this topic since 2016. It also includes the key FAQs on this standard. An excellent brush-up for your leadership team. Why Choose Barrins & Associates? “We use Barrins & Associates in all four of our psychiatric hospitals. The Barrins consultants always bring a wealth of knowledge as well as practical advice on how to comply with standards and regulations. I highly recommend them to any behavioral health organization looking for top notch consultants.” Barb Walls MSN, RN VP of PI, Risk Management and Corporate Compliance SUN Behavioral Health Red Bank, New Jersey Read More Testimonials >

Barrins & Associates provides Joint Commission and CMS consulting services for the Behavioral Healthcare industry. Our clients include psychiatric hospitals, psychiatric services within med/surg 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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