Dayton Children’s gets approval from accreditation agency

Dayton Children's Hospital is fully accredited by a leading industry rating agency after a preliminary denial earlier this year.

The Joint Commission, a nonprofit that accredits hospitals and other health care businesses, had updated the hospital’s accreditation status following a survey at the hospital on Oct. 30.

CEO Deborah Feldman had said previously that the hospital did not agree with the Joint Commission’s preliminary denial and expected the hospital would retain its accreditation.

A preliminary denial means the Joint Commission determined there was justification to deny accreditation. While not a government agency, the Joint Commission’s approval is crucial for most hospitals to remain in business because it means that a hospital meets federals standards and is eligible to be paid by Medicare and Medicaid.

Medicaid covers more than half of patients at the Dayton pediatric hospital, which has about $300 million in annual revenue and 3,000 employees.

Denials are rare. Less than 1 percent of hospitals each year end up losing the commission’s stamp of approval, and there is a review and appeal process before a hospital receives a full denial.

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Feldman said some of the problems cited were related to not having behavioral health-designed hospital rooms, which the hospital is currently building; construction issues, which have since been resolved; and the commission using a new evaluation method, which the hospital is now familiar with.

Feldman said the new methodology counted each time an example of noncompliance was found instead of generally noting that there was an issue. A hospital spokesman said Tuesday that she was not aware of any other Joint Commission visits scheduled at this time.

“It was a different survey we had ever had before at a period of time when we had been through a lot of change,” Feldman previously said.

Feldman also had said on the hospital’s 30-day revisit on Sept. 28, the Joint Commission surveyor cleared Dayton Children’s of all conditions.

When the Joint Commission came Aug. 16 for its three-year survey of the hospital, it listed 44 areas at Dayton Children’s under which there were one or more requirements that needed improvement. The wide-ranging list included “the hospital conducts fire drills,” “the hospital safely stores medications,” and “the hospital inspects, tests, and maintains medical equipment.”

The Joint Commission declined to provide further details on why the hospital was given a preliminary denial beyond its list of areas where problems were found.

The commission evaluates safety and compliance with industry standards at more than 21,000 U.S. hospitals and programs.

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