Puget Sound Behavioral Health (PSBH), Pierce County Regional Support Network’s psychiatric hospital in Tacoma, has been re-certified for another three years by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). The accreditation surveyor visited the hospital during mid-December for a four-day evaluation of the facility and services.

“I found the survey process to be helpful in providing consultative advice as well as critical review of the mental health services we provide,” said Mark Seling, Ph.D., chief of inpatient services at PSBH. Seling also said the surveyor remarked that PSBH was practicing the psychiatric treatment model that is consistent with national medical standards.

Puget Sound Behavioral Health is the only hospital in the local county that provides both voluntary and involuntary inpatient mental health care.

Re-accreditation by JCAHO allows PSBH to continue to qualify for federal funding. “The revenue for PSBH comes primarily from fees from Medicaid, Medicare, insurance and other federal funding for indigent patients. Without the JCAHO accreditation, PSBH would not be allowed payment from the governmental sources,” said Fran Lewis, director of PSBH.

JCAHO evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. The Joint Commission also accredits health plans, integrated delivery networks and other managed care entities.

An independent, not-for-profit organization, the Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.