UNC Hospitals on Probation After Accreditation Denial | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal, and written by Julie Havlak.


    UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill is on probation after the system received preliminary denial of its accreditation.

    Preliminary Denial of Accreditation is recommended when there's an immediate threat to health and safety, a submission of falsified documents or misrepresented information, a lack of a required license, or significant noncompliance with Joint Commission standards, according to the Joint Commission - an independent, nonprofit association that certifies more than 21,000 health-care organizations in the U.S.

    "To be clear: There was no finding of any immediate threats to patient health and safety," UNC Health Care spokesman Alan Wolf said in an email.

    The Joint Commission recently conducted the triennial accreditation survey, when surveyors examined the main hospital in Chapel Hill.

    UNC Health Care credited the slide in accreditation to new standards by the Joint Commission. The hospital will remain on preliminary denial of accreditation status until the hospital undergoes a new survey and satisfies the requirements.

    The hospital network says it has already put plans in place to fix each problematic area.

    "Leadership of UNC Hospitals is confident that we have addressed all of the Joint Commission's findings and will be removed from the preliminary denial of accreditation status," UNC Health Care said in a statement. "We are committed to continuous quality improvement, and working with the Joint Commission is just one part of that ongoing effort."

    UNC Health Care said the Joint Commission accepted its plans of correction, and expects the validation survey to take place next week.

    "We are proud of the safe and excellent care we provide every day," UNC Health Care said in a statement.

    The story will be updated as more information becomes available.