JCAHO Expands Committee

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL-The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) plans to expand and rename its Long Term Care Professional and Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC) to include representation from the assisted living sector. The PTAC will become the Long Term Care and Assisted Living Professional and Technical Advisory Committee effective January 1, 2001. It will support JCAHO's new Assisted Living Accreditation Program, launched last May, and its existing Long Term Care Accreditation Program. The addition of the assisted living sector will add six seats to the PTAC and those representatives will be appointed by the fall.

Assisted living facilities seeking JCAHO accreditation undergo an on-site evaluation, or accreditation survey, to assess compliance with more than 180 standards addressing both the care of residents and the management of the facility. The new committee representatives will be responsible for advising JCAHO on the development of standards and improvements to the survey process.