Joint Commission Behavioral Health Update
May 2015
In This Issue:

Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Healthcare!

We hope that Spring has reached your region of the country and that the sunny days of summer are not far behind!

 

This month, we are very pleased to announce our partnership with RiverMend Health to achieve TJC accreditation for their facilities nationwide. You can learn more about RiverMend Health, their facilities and their work in the addictions treatment field on their website.  

 

In addition, our first article provides information for psychiatric hospitals on the finalized CMS worksheets on Quality Assessment/Performance Improvement (QAPI), Infection Control, and Discharge Planning. Since these worksheets will now be used by the State Health Departments when they are conducting surveys on behalf of CMS, it's important to be familiar with them.

 

Our second article discusses the Life Events Checklist (LEC-5), which can be used as a resource for conducting trauma assessment (a topic coming up more frequently during TJC surveys.)

 

We value your feedback on the newsletter. Please email 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 forward this newsletter to your colleagues.

 

Regards,

Anne Barrins

President/CEO

Anticipating a TJC survey in 2016?

 

Contact us now to schedule a mock survey. We'll make sure your staff are well prepared for all of the tracers and interviews.

1-877-546-7206
NEW CLIENTS!
Barrins & Associates is pleased to welcome four additional new clients this month: Beckett Springs located in West Chester, Ohio, Montevista Hospital located in Las Vegas, Nev., Strategic Behavioral Center - Charlotte located in Charlotte, N.C., and Sunspire Health Hyde Park located in Tampa, Fla. We are pleased to be working with all of these organizations on Joint Commission readiness!!
Why Choose
Barrins & Associates?
"We found Barrins & Associates in 2012 after having used other TJC consultants. Right away, we knew we had the right partner for TJC readiness. Their expertise is outstanding and their collegial, problem solving approach is a perfect match for us. We highly recommend them!" 

Wendy Oliver-Pyatt, MD
Founder/Executive Director
Oliver-Pyatt Centers, Miami, FL
Tip of the Month
Looking for best practice examples of compliance with TJC standards?
Check out the Leading Practices Library on your TJC Connect site. There are many TJC-approved resources there that may be useful to you.
Psychiatric Hospitals
Study the CMS Worksheets
In October 2014, CMS distributed the final version of the three worksheets to be used by the State Survey Agencies (SAs) when conducting their surveys. The worksheets are for Infection Control, Discharge Planning, and Quality Assessment/Performance Improvement (QAPI). They will be used by the state surveyors to assess compliance with the Conditions of Participation (CoPs) associated with those areas. CMS began piloting these worksheets in 2011 as part of its Patient Safety Initiative. The focus of the Patient Safety Initiative is to reduce hospital acquired infections and preventable readmissions. Continue reading to learn how these worksheets will impact your hospital ...
The Life Events Checklist
A Resource for Trauma Assessment
As discussed in previous articles, the TJC Behavioral Health standards have a specific standard in the Care, Treatment, and Services chapter on trauma assessment. It is standard CTS.02.02.05 (added in 2011): "The organization identifies individuals served who may have experienced trauma, abuse, neglect, or exploitation."  Learn more about these specific requirements ...
RiverMend Health engages Barrins & Associates
We are pleased to announce that RiverMend Health has engaged Barrins & Associates to provide Joint Commission readiness consultation for their programs nationwide. RiverMend Health is a premier provider of evidence-based, scientifically driven addiction medicine delivering world-class treatment through a nationwide network of leading addiction recovery experts and treatment centers. Their network of programs includes substance abuse and eating disorder programs in California, Arizona, Illinois, and Georgia.

We are excited to be partnering with RiverMend Health on Joint Commission accreditation for all of their programs!
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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