When behavioral health organizations become accredited, they use Joint Commission, the Council on Accreditation, and CARF as the survey agencies. The purpose of accreditation is to receive government or managed care contracts. Accreditation acts as a “seal of approval”, like the Good Housekeeping Seal. But most agencies do not honor their accreditation as they are supposed to.
These accreditation agencies usually give 3-year accreditations. This means the agency has sufficiently shown its competence in its administration and programming. Although recommendations or corrections may be necessary, the agency passed its survey with flying colors. However, when the survey report comes and the corrections are made, most agencies take their policy manuals and work and put it in their basement for another 3 years. It’s treated like a Thanksgiving dinner; clean the house, get all the preparations ready, have the meal, and then let the house go until the next year.
Accreditation agencies want behavioral health organizations to continue the same type of services for the next 3 years as they did right before the survey. They want to see that the organization keeps up the same standards during the entire 3 years. For example, CARF asks organizations to provide annual conformance to quality report. Some organizations do this annual evaluation while many do not.
As a result, the survey process usually consists of an organization frantically running around three to six months before the actual visit. Because organizations do not have a designated person to handle their survey employees add extra workload to their already busy schedule. Is there an easier way?
If your organization is going to wait until the last minute, here are some steps you can take to be ready in 90 days:
In conclusion, although your behavioral health organization should always be ready for an accreditation survey, you can do it in 90 days. Just don’t tell the surveyors about it.
Praxes provides consulting to behavioral health organizations, including accreditation. For more information, please contact us.
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PRAXES is a nationwide behavioral health software, consulting, and training company. No one in the behavioral health industry has a better reputation, and if you give us the chance, we’ll show you why! At PRAXES, our services improve the efficiency and structure of behavioral health agencies serving children and families nationwide. PRAXES brings over 45 years of administrative and clinical expertise. With more than 100 client companies nationwide, we offer the expertise to advance the quality of behavioral health services. We accomplish these goals through our new clinical decision software, our training of best practices, and helping companies meet regulatory standards. At PRAXES, we believe in being creative and fostering new ways to serve children and their families. Our vision is to empower the families our agencies serve with skills that not only improve their functioning, but help them to thrive in their everyday lives. When you give us the chance, you’ll be connected directly to our friendly staff, so you can expect immediate attention to your inquiry. So, don’t wait, call now!
Dan Thorne has unique perspectives on the field of mental health. As a clinician, he has had over 40 years of experience working with clients in the Southern California area. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine, he worked with children in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Here he honed his earliest techniques on at-risk children. After that, he obtained his Master’s degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
In the 1990’s, Dan turned his attention to the clinical and administrative side of behavioral health organizations. For three years, he was the Assistant Administrator of Starting Point, a chemical dependency facility in Costa Mesa, CA. In 2001, he took an opportunity to be the Director of Harbor View Community Services Center in Long Beach. When he arrived, the Center had only 80 clients and 13 staff. When he left, there were over 400 clients and 75 staff. Dan created several programs through their contract with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Child and Family Services. Under his guidance, Harbor View became one of the leading providers of children’s services in Los Angeles County.
While improving the results of the client’s parents at the Center, Dan reflected on his experiences as a parent. His children themselves had special needs such as mental and intellectual challenges, and Dan knew the toll it takes on the parent. In order to help the child, the parent has to be healthy. From this concept, he created his parenting program. After years of refining it, teaching it to his staff at the Center, and then taking the results and comments from these efforts, he became the developer of the current PRAXES program. It is a culmination of Dan’s personal trials and tribulations as a parent along with empirical results and research of over 40 parenting programs.
Our vision at PRAXES is to advance the strength of parents and caregivers of children with special needs (mental health, intellectual, or physical) through education, support, and empowerment. Thus, they can live healthy and functional lives while caring for the child.
Apogee is a clinical decision software designed to help behavioral health practitioners with their treatment and patient engagement. It provides evidence-based and research-based components. Not only do they consist of elements from such practices as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Functional Behavior Analysis, but also the Intensive Models for Parents, Youth, and Children.
PRAXES has over 30 years of accreditation experience. We know what it takes to get your organization accredited. Whether it’s Joint Commission, CARF, or COA, our team can provide an evaluation of your current status and review the standards which need improvements. We will assist you with the policies, documentation, and training required to be accredited.
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