Dear Colleague:

Thank you for taking the time to learn about our exciting journey towards becoming the nation’s newest deemed-status provider for acute care hospitals. In December of 2011, CIHQ formally applied to CMS for deeming-authority of our acute care hospital accreditation program.

This process started in May of last year and involved months of hard work and preparation. Thanks to a dedicated staff – and the support of our member organizations – CIHQ met the requirements necessary to submit the application in record time!

The decision to undertake this quest was not made lightly. We felt strongly however that hospital’s would benefit from a viable alternative to the current deemed-status agencies.

We believe that the fundamental purpose of a deemed-status agency is to assure that an accredited organization is in compliance with the Medicare Conditions of Participation. We strongly believe that using deemed-status authority as the fulcrum to engage in the "social engineering" of healthcare or to force hospitals to adopt a specific performance improvement methodology is wrong.

The heart of a deemed-status accreditation process should be to assure that patients receive care in a safe environment by an organization that complies with the minimum standards set forth by the federal government. Your deemed-status provider should assure this; provide you with the tools and support you need, engage with you in a collegial and educational manner, and perform these services at a reasonable cost. If we are approved, this will be our commitment to you!

Between now and July of 2012, CMS will review our application and work with us to address any outstanding issues. CMS will also conduct a site visit to our corporate office and accompany us on a survey to evaluate our process.

While there is no guarantee, we hope to be approved by July of 2012. We appreciate your continued support as we move forward.

Respectfully

Richard Curtis, RN, MS, HACP
Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer – CIHQ

Click here for the Hospital Accreditation Standards
Click here for a Crosswalk of CMS Conditions of Participation & CIHQ Standards
Click here for the Hospital Survey Activity Guide
Click here for CIHQ Accreditation Policies
Click here for CIHQ Instructions to Surveyors
Click here for a Sample Survey Agenda
Click here for an Application to be Accredited