Joint Commission Behavioral Health Update
September 2015
In This Issue:

Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Healthcare!
We enjoyed connecting with so many of our Florida clients at the annual conference sponsored by Florida Alcohol & Drug Abuse Association and Florida Council for Community Mental Health in Orlando last month; very informative presentations and great networking!

Now that summer vacations are over, most organizations are returning to their routine flow of business, including Joint Commission readiness efforts. To support you in that, we are providing information on two topics of interest related to TJC surveys. Our first article provides resources on how to assess environmental safety risks in behavioral health settings. Our second article covers the topic of closed record review during TJC surveys. Both topics are sometimes challenging for BH organizations.

We look forward to seeing many of you at the annual TJC Behavioral Health Care Conference on October 15 and 16 in Rosemont, Illinois. Please let us know if you will be attending and we will be sure to find you and catch up!

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 forward this newsletter to your colleagues.

Best regards and enjoy the fall season in your part of the country!

Regards,
Anne Barrins
President/CEO
Are you a behavioral health agency considering TJC accreditation?

Contact us now to learn about our proven model for TJC success. We have a 100% track record for successful initial accreditation and can help you achieve the gold standard!

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NEW CLIENTS!
Barrins & Associates is pleased to welcome four new clients this month: Haven Behavioral Hospital of Albuquerque in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Cedar Creek Recovery in Austin, Texas, Akua Mind & Body in Orange County, California, and Sober Living Outpatient in Delray Beach, Florida. We are pleased to be working with all of these organizations on Joint Commission readiness!
Why Choose
Barrins & Associates?
"We used Barrins & Associates for initial TJC accreditation and our survey three years later. Their expertise in TJC standards and survey process is outstanding. We wholeheartedly endorse their services to other eating disorder programs and to our other colleagues in the behavioral healthcare field."

Kimberli McCallum, MD
CEO, Founder and Medical Director
McCallum Place Eating Disorder Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Environmental Risk Assessment in Bh Settings
As we monitor TJC survey reports, we continue to see surveyors cite environmental safety risks in behavioral health settings including psychiatric hospitals, psychiatric units in acute care hospitals and sometimes in BH residential settings. In order to address this issue proactively, we highly recommend that you formally evaluate the environmental safety risks in your environment.
Closed Record Review
Be Prepared for Your Next Survey
Although it is not a part of the formal agenda, most TJC surveys typically include a review of a sample of closed records in addition to the open record review that takes place during tracer activities. There are specific elements that surveyors are evaluating when they review closed records, including Timeliness of Discharge Summaries, Content of Discharge Summaries, Discharge Instructions and Discharge Information Shared with Other Providers.
Congratulations Corner
Congratulations to our clients, The Village for Families and Children and Bx Healthcare Systems on achieving the gold standard of Joint Commission accreditation!
Learn more about these organizations >
Tip of the Month
TJC publishes a quarterly newsletter BHC News targeted exclusively to behavioral health organizations. It's full of updates and information on TJC standards and survey process. To sign up, go to the Behavioral Health page of the TJC website and click on BHC News. The second issue of 2015 is now available, as well as past issues.
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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