Our 2010 Hospital Members

WELCOME 

1. Description:

SPHCC is a facilitated network of state and other psychiatric hospitals. It has been established to enhance the ability of these hospitals to comply with the challenging requirements of the Joint Commission (TJC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Members gain the advantage of truly relevant information and advice by accessing an array of online support services. These services have been designed and are facilitated by former JC and CMS surveyors. The core of this support includes:

SPHCC Reading Support

(for Psychiatric Service Compliance)

Are you reluctant to spend the time (or energy) it takes to read all of the Joint Commission’s official monthly publications to find the small percent of information that applies to your psychiatric facility? Do you have trouble finding important rulings that you ‘heard’ were recently released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services? Welcome to the club and welcome to the SPHCC! Now, log on and review our Reading Tips Newsletter. Every month our TJC/CMS experts and former surveyors do the first round of reading for you. We will find the information that is truly meaningful (not just ‘applicable’) to compliance for your in-patient psychiatric services. Our concise reviews tell you what is important and make it easy to find the source for more details if you want/need them.  We will also give you a heads up on the things you need to know and act on more immediately.

SPHCC Network Support

(for Psychiatric Sister Communication)

The uniqueness of psychiatric services and hospitals is not sufficiently recognized in the world of standards and compliance. The particular challenges of such hospitals operating in the public sector are even less appreciated. Managing those challenges could be so much easier if one could only find a few, sister hospitals with similar populations, services and staff to exchange ideas and experience with. Until now, your best options for doing this required traveling to national meetings, hiring a well-traveled consultant or sifting through tons of irrelevant listserv banter. Welcome to the sisterhood. Sign on and go to our Member's Directory that is uniquely coded to help you find hospitals of similar size and/or serving similar populations. Then go to our Discussion Board where you can interact at your own pace around relevant compliance topics with a real peer and our TJC/CMS cadre of Associates. And don't forget to call in to our free Mini-WebNRs at the end of each month.

SPHCC Storehouse

(part of the F&A Compliance Repository)

No two hospitals are ever exactly alike and for that reason (and others) we do not encourage sticking your institution’s name on another’s offerings. At the same time, there is much to be said for learning from examples: not recreating the wheel and not always having to start at square one. It also just makes sense to keep the answer to a frequently asked question available someplace, because, someone is going to need it again. Our goal is to make an example of every form, policy and procedure required by TJC and/or CMS standards available to our members.  Add to this a contribution of wisdom pearls from your recent survey experiences and the storehouse becomes a powerhouse of compliance knowledge specifically for state and psychiatric facilities.

2. For More Information:

Download:  SPHCC Overview (PDF) or SPHCC Overview (Doc)

3. Membership:

A. Membership is for a 12-month period from July 1 to June 30 the following year.  Fees are not pro-rated.

B. Participants must be staff or a designated representative of a current member state hospital or other public MH inpatient facility.

C. Each facility is permitted unlimited SPHCC access by its staff.  It is also encouraged to designate up to 3 official representatives at least one of whom is the PI/QI Department Director or designated Survey Coordinator.

D. Members agree to collaborate in at least the following ways:

• Identify a survey information contact person for the SPHCC directory of sister hospitals.

• Provide some brief details about the kinds of services you offer and the patient populations you work with.

• Provide feedback on your TJC and CMS surveys while they are still fresh in your mind using our online Post-Survey Questionnaire (PSQ).

• Contribute at least one best practice policy, or form for online sharing/posting with other SPHCC members each year

• Participate in at least one online opinion e-Poll per year

• Share any other tips, tools and pearls that you think might benefit the compliance efforts of your sister hospitals whenever you can

E. Agree to preserve confidentiality, honor HIPAA requirements and use respect and discretion in all shared communications and information use.

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4. Next Step

Please become an SPHCC  Member.  Join as part of a group of hospitals or for mulitple years and save up to 40% of the annual fee.  If your hospital is expecting a survey within the next 12 months you may even be eligible for a 1-time 'Survey Sharing' discount of 80%!  Special discounts are also available for dues-paid NASMHPD members and established F&A customers and clients.

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