Newport County Community Mental Health Center Awarded Accreditation from The Joint Commission

For Questions about this Press Release, Contact:

Julie Weinberg

Executive Assistant

127 Johnny Cake Hill Road

Middletown, RI 02842

401-846-1213 x103

jweinberg@nccmhc.org

For Immediate Release:

Middletown, Rhode Island, August, 2013 — Newport County Community Mental Health Center, Inc. Awarded Accreditation from The Joint Commission

Newport County Community Mental Health Center, Inc. (NCCMHC) has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in behavioral health care.

In May, 2013, NCCMHC underwent a thorough on-site survey, in which an expert independent surveyor from The Joint Commission evaluated NCCMHC with rigorous national standards of care specific to the needs of individuals and families served including, infection prevention and control, leadership and medication management. The accreditation award recognizes NCCMHC’s dedication to continuous compliance with Joint Commission standards which are developed in consultation with behavioral health care experts, providers, measurement experts, individuals served and their families. All behavioral health care standards address important functions related to care and The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals which target critical safety areas.

Joint Commission accreditation is a continuous process, which holds health care organizations to the expectation of continuous compliance, readiness and performance improvement in their daily patient care operations and management. NCCMHC has maintained continuous accreditation with The Joint Commission since 1998.

NCCMHC is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1964 to provide quality, comprehensive, recovery-oriented behavioral health services to individuals and families residing in Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton and Jamestown. NCCMHC is licensed by the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals (DBHDDH), and certified by The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). NCCMHC provides a wide range of mental health and substance abuse diagnostic and treatment services, including services to persons normally underserved and uninsured.

During FY 2012, NCCMHC provided over 120,000 client contacts, and served a total of 1,751 clients who range in age from early childhood to older adulthood.  NCCMHC provides these services in its offices, in schools, in homes and other locations within the community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and continually works to expand access to care and enhance its presence in the Newport County community, while striving to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness.

NCCMHC staff includes psychiatrists, clinical nurse specialists, nurses, social workers, case managers, psychologists, mental health counselors, substance abuse specialists, rehabilitation counselors and supportive personnel all of whom work individually. These staff were an integral component of NCCMHC’s accreditation survey success, serving as participants in on-site tracers, which focus on the evaluation of direct care of the client throughout the continuum of care. 

Affiliation with The Joint Commission also provides NCCMHC the ability to keep informed regarding new behavioral health care initiatives and clinical best practices.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization, is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,000 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,600 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services.

Members of the community who would like to learn more about The Joint Commission or review NCCMHC’s Accreditation Quality Report can do so by visiting The Joint Commission’s website at www.jointcommission.org. 

For more information about the services which NCCMHC provides please visit www.nccmhc.org or call 401-846-1213.