Joint Commission Behavioral Health Update
March 2017
In This Issue:

Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Healthcare!
It was great to catch up with so many of you at the annual meeting of the National Association for Psychiatric Health Systems in Washington, D.C. this month! Barrins & Associates was a Bronze Sponsor for the event. The agenda was chock full of eminent speakers and the most up-to-date information on issues impacting the Behavioral Healthcare industry. Many of our clients are NAPHS members. If you are not, we encourage you to consider joining the association. Check out the NAPHS web site. There's a wealth of information on pertinent topics for behavioral health providers.

In this month's newsletter, we are sharing important information on how TJC is surveying environmental safety risks in psychiatric inpatient settings. We are also providing news and updates for organizations surveyed under the Behavioral Health Care standards.

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.

Anne Barrins
President/CEO
Preparing for Your Next TJC Deemed Status Survey?
Our mock survey for psychiatric hospitals covers both the TJC and CMS requirements including the most currently challenging standards. It's your best survey preparation. Contact us now to get on our 2017 schedule.
1-877-546-7206
Tip of the Month
If you're tackling the issue of workplace violence, check out the following resources available from TJC:
Why Choose
Barrins & Associates?
"The expert guidance we got from Barrins & Associates was instrumental to our achieving TJC accreditation. Our consultant's knowledge and expertise made the path to accreditation clear and achievable. They were perfect! I highly recommend them to any BH organization seeking top notch TJC consultants. "

James W Fay IV, LPC
Senior Clinical Director GenPsych Bridgewater, New Jersey
Increased Scrutiny of Environmental Safety Risks in Psychiatric Hospitals
The Joint Commission recently announced that it is increasing scrutiny during surveys on ligature, suicide and self-harm risks in psychiatric hospitals and inpatient psychiatric units of med/surg hospitals. Specifically, TJC surveyors will document in their report all observations of ligature or self-harm risks that they identify in the hospital's environment.
Continue Reading >
TJC Updates
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE ACCREDITATION PROGRAM
News and updates to keep you informed on what's going on in the BHC Accreditation Program, including new executive director of Behavioral Health Care and Psychiatric Hospital Accreditation for TJC, information on new outcomes measurement requirement, survey timelines and Phase I revisions to Behavioral Health Care Standards.
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NEW CLIENTS
Barrins & Associates is pleased to welcome four new clients:
The Sanctuary at the Woodlands in Cullman, Alabama, Kiloby Center for Recovery in Rancho Mirage, California, Laurel Heights Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and  Stuyvesant Square Chemical Dependency Service at Mt. Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center  in New York City.  We are pleased to be working with these organizations on regulatory and accreditation compliance. 
Congratulations corner!
Congratulations to our client, GenPsych, 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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