Patient Care Facility Accreditation Guide

Accreditation requires that you continue to comply with the ABC Standards, abide by all policies and procedures, abide by the ABC Scope of Practice, comply with the ABC Code of Professional Responsibility and submit your annual fees on time. Failure to fulfill any of these requirements may result in the revocation of your facility’s accreditation. Facilities must notify ABC of any and all changes within 30 days of the effective date of change.

Facilities must notify ABC of any and all changes within 30 days of the effective date of change. Written notification should be emailed to accreditation@abcop.org. Such changes include:

Moving a Location

You are required to reapply for your facility should you change addresses as ABC is required to visit your new address. ABC cannot update our facility records without the completion of the accreditation application and associated fees with the updated address.

Adding a Location

You are required to apply for accreditation for all operational patient care sites as well as related administrative and warehouse locations. Administrative, warehouse and patient care sites that are within 100 miles driving distance of your primary location and under the same Tax ID must apply as affiliate locations (not to exceed four affiliates per primary); those outside of 100 miles or that do not meet the affiliate definition must apply as a primary location.

Any affiliate or related office that opens after the primary location has been granted accreditation cannot advertise or otherwise consider itself an accredited patient care center until you have applied for and been granted accreditation status by ABC. You must submit a new application, including all appropriate fees, upon the opening /acquisition/merger of an affiliate location. Once your application has been approved, ABC will determine if the location is eligible for a 90-day accreditation, with full accreditation contingent on passing your onsite survey with no significant compliance issues. If approved for full accreditation, this accreditation will be valid for the length of your primary location’s current accreditation.

Changing Corporate Structure

If you are changing your corporate structure, you must submit written details of the change, effective date, legal documentation (i.e. new business license, Articles of Incorporation) and ownership information to ABC. If you are changing ownership in addition to the corporate structure, please see the Ownership Changes section.

Adding Services or Products

ABC can only issue accreditation for services currently being offered. If you do not currently provide a service but wish to provide it in the future, you must wait until you are actively providing that service at your facility to apply for accreditation. To add services or products that are not covered under your current accreditation, you must submit an application and all fees.

If a new product is currently covered in your facility’s accreditation and does not require an additional survey, you can submit a detailed statement on your company letterhead that specifies the items that are being provided and the effective date.

Accreditation for the additional scope or product category will be valid for the length of your primary location’s current accreditation period; no additional time is granted.

Discontinuing a Service

You must notify ABC in writing if you discontinue any patient care service or discontinue offering a specific item or device. If you add the service at a later date, please see the instructions for adding additional scopes of services, items or devices. If the removal of the service or item/ device results in a change to your accreditation programs, you must mail  your original certificate to ABC so an updated certificate can be issued.

Closing or Selling Your Facility

You must notify ABC in writing if you close or sell your facility; notification must be sent within 30 days of the sale or closure. You must also mail the original active accreditation certificate to ABC. If you reopen your facility at a later date, you must submit a new online application and all related fees. If your facility is sold, your accreditation is not transferable to another owner, and the new owner of your facility will need to reapply (see Ownership changes).

Lawsuits and Disciplinary Actions

You must notify ABC if there are pending lawsuits and/or disciplinary actions against any staff members or locations when you apply for accreditation. A detailed written statement that includes the following must be submitted to ABC:

• A description of the incident
• The date and where the incident occurred
• The verdict of the charge(s) that were filed against the individual
• Any penalty/sentence associated with charges
• When the sentence was, or will be, completed
• Court case summary of the incident

Copies of court documents are also required. If the documents are not available, indicate the jurisdiction in which the charge(s), conviction or plea occurred and why the documents are not available.

Failure to notify ABC of pending litigation or disciplinary action can result in the delayed processing of your application, denial of your application, and/or termination of your accreditation.

Ownership Changes

Adding Owners to Existing Ownership

ABC requires that you submit a renewal application for resurvey with a detailed letter, accreditation fees and legal documentation of the changes. When completing your application, please make sure you select the option for Ownership Change. If you are adding owners to your facilities, you will maintain your current accreditation cycle while waiting for an onsite survey.

Complete Change of Ownership

ABC Accreditation is not transferrable between two different owners. A complete change in ownership requires the facility to be resurveyed. If no existing owners are remaining at the facility, the new ownership must submit an online application, application fee, and upload a letter detailing the changes as well as supporting legal documentation of the sale.

ABC is authorized to issue a 90-day accreditation if your facility is accredited and in good standing under a different owner. To be issued a 90-day accreditation based on an ownership change, you must make your request in writing, along with your application, legal documentation of the sale and all fees.

In order to issue a 90-day accreditation, your application must be approved and accreditation must be verified. We will approve the product categories based upon your facility’s previous accreditation and in accordance with ABC’s Scope of Practice.

Removing an Owner from Existing Ownership

If you are removing an owner from your facility’s existing ownership, you must submit a letter detailing the change, the effective date and provide legal documentation (i.e. Transfer of Shares evidence, Articles of Incorporation). A resurvey is not required as long as an existing owner remains.

Personnel Changes

You are responsible for notifying ABC of employment status changes for all certified and licensed personnel within 30 days of the effective change date. All notifications must be made in writing. In the event that a personnel change leaves your facility without a qualifying professional, you have a maximum of six months from the last day of employment to replace the professional. Failure to do so will result in loss of accreditation for that discipline. This six-month grace period is allowed once per accreditation cycle. During this time, your facility must still operate within the ABC Scope of Practice and in accordance to state and federal laws.

*In the event that the ABC Patient Care Facility Accreditation Standards are revised, we will establish a time frame for you to achieve compliance. Remember, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are in compliance with the ABC Standards at all times.