Joint Commission Behavioral Health Update
November 2017
In This Issue:

Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Healthcare!
Holiday Greetings  to our clients and colleagues across the country! As this hectic season ensues, we want to give you the most up-to-the-minute news on TJC's surveying of ligature risks in inpatient psychiatric settings. TJC just officially released its recommendations so we are devoting our newsletter to that topic this month. 

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 to you and yours for a Happy Holiday Season! Our newsletter will return in January 2018.   

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 National Patient Safety Goals for the Behavioral Health Care and Hospital Accreditation Programs have been published. There are some slight changes so review them carefully to make sure all of your policies and processes are in full compliance.
Why Choose
Barrins & Associates?

"We just completed our annual Barrins & Associates mock survey at our hospital. As CEO, the most valuable aspect of the consultation was the perspective they gave us on what TJC is surveying and citing in other markets. They clearly have their finger on the TJC pulse nationwide which helped us immensely with our survey preparation and survey strategy for 2018."

Lance Folske, CEO
Carrollton Springs Hospital
Dallas, Texas
Ligature Risks
Guidance from TJC
The topic of ligature risks in inpatient psychiatric settings has been a significant challenge for the industry over the past several months following TJC's increased scrutiny of this issue since March 1. The latest development is that TJC has now published official recommendations on ligature risks in healthcare settings. These Recommendations Regarding Environmental Hazards for Providers and Surveyors were released in a preview communication on October 25 and subsequently published in the November issue of TJC Perspectives. As part of this communication, TJC has formally defined the term "ligature resistant."
NEW CLIENTs
Barrins & Associates is pleased to welcome six new clients:  
Mt. Sinai Behavioral Health System in New York CityMaine Behavioral Healthcare throughout MaineRiverside Recovery in Tampa, FloridaChicago Behavioral Hospital in Des Plaines, IllinoisWellBridge Hospital Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas, and Axis Mental Health in Newport Beach, California.
  We are pleased to be working with these clients on continuous regulatory readiness
Congratulations corner!
Congratulations to our client Monarch in North Carolina, 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.