1999 JCAHO Accreditation Survey Experience in Western Washington Hospitals

Abstract

Hospital librarians are acutely aware of the accreditation survey process as it unfolds in their institutions. This project was an attempt to study the 1999 accreditation survey experience of Washington hospital libraries in a systematic way, to establish benchmarks for the time spent in preparation, to identify activities undertaken to fulfill accreditation requirements, and to describe the librarian's participation during the JCAHO site visit “survey week.” Identifying the differences between libraries in hospitals and health care systems was a special focus.

Key Words:

• Benchmarking
• accreditation
• data collection
• Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
• questionnaires
• libraries
• hospital

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Susan Schweinsberg Long

Susan Schweinsberg Long earned her MSL at Western Michigan (Kalamazoo) University School of Librarianship. A Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals, she has spent more than 28 years as a hospital librarian, most recently at MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, Washington.