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Health Care Accreditation Consultants Specializing in Behavioral Health

From preparing for initial accreditation and keeping up with changing requirements to survey preparation and continuous survey readiness, behavioral health care compliance is a big job to handle alone.

Barrins & Associates has been an experienced, trusted partner to over 400 organizations nationwide. The firm was founded by Anne Barrins, MS, CSW who had many years of executive experience in behavioral health care compliance management and was a Joint Commission surveyor for 13 years. Ms. Barrins led the Barrins & Associates consulting firm from 1999 to 2023 when she retired.

Barrins & Associates is now led by Jennifer Cowel, RN, MHSA as President and Julia Finken, BSN, MBA, CPHQ, CLSSMBB as Senior Vice President. Both Jennifer and Julia bring extensive experience in healthcare accreditation and regulatory compliance, and both also served as Joint Commission surveyors.

Jennifer Cowel, RN, MHSA

Jennifer Cowel, RN, MHSA

Julia Finken, BSN, MBA, CPHQ, CLSSMBB

Julia Finken, BSN, MBA, CPHQ, CLSSMBB

Anne Barrins, MS, CSW

Anne Barrins, MS, CSW

  • Founder/Retired
Claire Burchfield, LCSW, CPHQ

Claire Burchfield, LCSW, CPHQ

Jacqueline Gacek Smith, RN, MS, CPHQ, HACP-CMS, LNC

Jacqueline Gacek Smith, RN, MS, CPHQ, HACP-CMS, LNC

Mark Halal, LCSW

Mark Halal, LCSW

Colleen Sawyer, RN, MS

Colleen Sawyer, RN, MS

Laura Sellers, RHIA

Laura Sellers, RHIA

Jared Shapiro, DrPH, MPH, CEM, HEM, FAcEM, CBCP, CHSP, CHFM, NRP

Jared Shapiro, DrPH, MPH, CEM, HEM, FAcEM, CBCP, CHSP, CHFM, NRP

Ernie Allen, ARM, CSP, CHRM, CHFM

Ernie Allen, ARM, CSP, CHRM, CHFM

Domenic Baratta, MPH, CSP, HEM, CHSP, CHEP, CFI-I

Domenic Baratta, MPH, CSP, HEM, CHSP, CHEP, CFI-I

Jason Beers, MS, CHFM, CLSS-HC, CFI-I

Jason Beers, MS, CHFM, CLSS-HC, CFI-I

Marianne Birmingham, MS, MBA, CHC, CTP

Marianne Birmingham, MS, MBA, CHC, CTP

David Blahnik, CPM, PMP, CHSP, CHEP

David Blahnik, CPM, PMP, CHSP, CHEP

Barbara Bugella, RN, MSN, MBA

Barbara Bugella, RN, MSN, MBA

Jay Colamaria, RN, MS

Jay Colamaria, RN, MS

Jeannine Loucks, MSN, RN-BC, PMH

Jeannine Loucks, MSN, RN-BC, PMH

Merlyn LaPaix, RN, MSN, MBA, LNC

Merlyn LaPaix, RN, MSN, MBA, LNC

Lorna Pham, MA, PsyD

Lorna Pham, MA, PsyD

Yvonne Rockwood, MBA, MHA, CPHQ

Yvonne Rockwood, MBA, MHA, CPHQ

Sonja Schierling, MS

Sonja Schierling, MS

David Shadle, PHR, SHRM-CP

David Shadle, PHR, SHRM-CP

Robert Short, MA

Robert Short, MA

Angeline Stanislaus, MD

Angeline Stanislaus, MD

Susan A. Sullivan, MBA, MLS(ASCP)SBB, CQA(ASQ)

Susan A. Sullivan, MBA, MLS(ASCP)SBB, CQA(ASQ)

Benjamin Turbin

Benjamin Turbin

Lauren Donaldson

Lauren Donaldson

 Lindsey Cowel

Lindsey Cowel

Brooke Jones

Brooke Jones

  • Marketing and Business Development Associate
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