Montgomery—Every three years Alabama’s mental health facilities have a chance to evidence their continued commitment to excellence in service provision when the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) conducts a site visit to renew each facility’s accreditation. A JCAHO site review team visited the Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility, the state’s only forensic facility for psychiatric treatment, in late February. "The Taylor Hardin facility scored an exceptionally high score of 97 out of 100 on their most recent survey. We are so proud of their accomplishments and offer our sincere congratulations and commendation to Jim Reddoch, the facility’s director, and all the fine staff of that facility," said Kathy Sawyer, DMH/MR Commissioner. According to the JCAHO Communications Office, only 9 percent of hospitals around the nation achieve a score of 97 or above on surveys assessing compliance with hospital standards.

Founded in 1951, JCAHO is dedicated to continuously improving the safety and quality of the nation’s health care through accreditation. "Above all, the national standards are intended to stimulate continuous, systematic and organization-wide improvement in an organization’s performance and the outcomes of care," said Russell P. Massaro, M.D., executive vice president, Accreditation Operations, Joint Commission.

"We make a significant investment in quality on a day-to-day basis from the top down," said facility director Jim Reddoch. "I feel honored and privileged to work with so many dedicated, hard-working individuals who are always willing to give whatever it takes, first, to see that residents in this facility receive the care and treatment they need, and, second, to ensure that this facility is the best it can be," he said. Associate Commissioner for Mental Illness Kimberly Ingram also expressed her appreciation for the hard work of all the staff at Taylor Hardin. "We seek accreditation for all our mental illness facilities because we want to be the best and we view obtaining Joint Commission accreditation as another step toward excellence," she said.

The Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility enjoys several important national distinctions. It is the first freestanding forensic facility in the nation to achieve JCAHO accreditation, and it has recently received national recognition for its non-reliance on seclusion and restraint. "At national meetings, our colleagues from other states always ask us about our use of seclusion and restraints. When we tell them that we do not use either technique, they cannot believe it. It’s true, and we’re always pleased and proud to share with others the methods we use to prevent reliance on seclusion and restraints," Reddoch said.

Commissioner Sawyer is very proud of the diligence with which Taylor Hardin staff and others work to achieve excellence. "I am really gratified to say that Alabama’s public psychiatric facilities are really above average. This score of 97 on an instrument that assesses safety and quality of care gives us much to be proud of," she said.