Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Health!

Dear Clients and Readers,

As we move into fall, many behavioral health organizations are using this time to prepare for the busy season —a period often marked by survey activity, program launches and renewed strategic initiatives. This is an ideal moment to pause and reflect on how we can strengthen patient safety, advance quality, and reinforce resilience within psychiatric hospitals and community behavioral health settings.

In this issue, we highlight timely topics shaping the field. Our goal is to provide you with practical insights that not only support compliance and accreditation readiness, but also foster sustainable, forward looking care models.

Whether it’s regulatory updates, accreditation strategies, or best practices for workforce and patient support, we hope you find resources here that lighten your load and inspire innovative thinking.

As always, we value your feedback. Please share your comments and let us know what topics you would like featured in upcoming editions. And don’t hesitate to forward this newsletter to colleagues— their perspectives enrich the conversation and strengthen our community of practice.

Key Updates. Actionable Advice. All in One Trusted Newsletter.

Best Regards,

Yvonne Rockwood
MBA, MHA, CPHQ
Senior Vice President

Leadership Insights: Yvonne Rockwood on Accreditation, Compliance, and Behavioral Health

Q: What excites you most about stepping into the role of SVP of Accreditation and Regulatory Compliance and what is your vision for the team moving forward?

A: What excites me most is the opportunity to collaborate with the HBS family and to continue the Barrins legacy as the trusted partner for psychiatric hospitals and behavioral health organizations nationwide. I’ve long admired how Barrins combines deep regulatory expertise with a practical, collaborative approach to problem-solving – not only solving compliance challenges but also the support provided to elevate quality, safety, and patient-centered care across the behavioral health continuum. My vision moving forward is to build on that strength—expanding our consulting capabilities, deepening our integration with Patton and the broader HBS family, and positioning our team as trusted thought leaders in accreditation readiness, regulatory strategy, and performance improvement.

Q: What are the biggest opportunities and challenges facing behavioral health accreditation and regulatory compliance right now?

A: From my perspective, the biggest opportunity is the growing recognition that behavioral health deserves the same level of rigor, investment, and innovation as other areas of healthcare. We see this in increased attention to crisis care models like EmPATH units, the expansion of telebehavioral health, and the integration of behavioral health into broader health systems. A big challenge can be that regulatory requirements are ever evolving, and mandates are becoming more complex. Our role at Barrins is to help clients navigate these obstacles with practical strategies that balance compliance, quality, and sustainability.

Q: Can you share a pivotal experience in your career that has shaped your leadership style today?

A: A pivotal moment came early in my career when I was leading a hospital team through a high-stakes Joint Commission survey after a period of significant organizational change. I realized that success wasn’t just about having the right policies—it was about equipping staff with confidence, clarity, and a sense of shared purpose. That experience reinforced my belief in servant leadership: empowering teams, listening deeply, and leading with both accountability and empathy. I am grateful to now carry that with me today through every engagement and each interpersonal client and colleague relationship.

Q: What closing message would you like to share with our readers as you step into this role?

A: I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude—thank you for so warmly welcoming me into this role and for the trust to support you and your organization in achieving your goals in accreditation, compliance, quality of care, and client safety. I look forward to partnering with you soon in the important work ahead!

The Leadership Imperative in Behavioral Health

When working with Behavioral Health Organizations nationwide, one pattern stands out: having the most resources doesn’t drive success, instead it’s by having the strongest leaders. Leadership determines whether staff remain engaged or choose to leave, and whether…

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The Five Persistent Gaps in Psychiatric Hospitals

Imagine the scrutiny a facility faces after a patient’s death. When this happens, surveyors cite serious threats to patient safety—including the frequency of checks for patients in seclusion and the safety of the seclusion space—leading to a preliminary denial of…

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Measuring What Matters: Raising the Bar on Behavioral Health Outcomes

Community behavioral health providers face a growing challenge: not just delivering care under resource constraints, but proving its impact. Measuring outcomes has long been standard in physical health—blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol—but in behavioral health,…

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ACCREDITOR INSIGHTS & UPDATES

TJC

As we all should be aware by now, the Behavioral Health Care and Human Services (BH/HHS) accreditation program updated their Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Behavioral Health Care and Human Services (CAMBHC) standards this past July.

Key revisions we have noted to impact our clients so far include:

• Updated Emergency Management chapter for behavioral health & human services organizations.
• Revised Infection Control standards with expanded requirements for surveillance, environmental hygiene, and staff competency.
• Alignment of Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs) with updated SAMHSA MOUD rules — strengthening documentation, oversight, and treatment planning.
• New or updated Accreditation Participation Requirements (APR) for behavioral health and psychiatric hospitals.
• Optional Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) standards, tied directly to SAMHSA’s criteria, for organizations that elect this model.

Don’t forget: The 2025 CAMBHC manual includes a “What’s New” section highlighting all changes from prior editions

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CARF

Earlier this year, CARF introduced a new behavioral health requirement: Measurement-Informed Care (MIC) / Measurement-Based Care (MBC) where organizations must use standardized outcome assessments and integrate results into treatment decisions. They also updated program descriptions including crisis stabilization, court treatment, and day treatment to reflect evolving community behavioral health practices.

Don’t forget: For CCBHC accreditation, SAMHSA criteria has been converted into ratable standards and are embedded directly in the manuals.

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TIP OF THE MONTH

A simple but powerful practice is to conduct purposeful leadership rounds—not just for visibility, but to connect with staff on what matters most.

Ask these three simple focused questions during rounds:

1. What’s working well today?
2. What barriers are you facing?
3. How can leadership support you right now?

Action Step: Choose one clinical unit this month and commit to 15 minutes of purposeful rounding. Document feedback and share one small change you make as a result.

Barrins & Associates provides regulatory and accreditation consulting services for the Behavioral Healthcare industry, including psychiatric hospitals and freestanding BH organizations. We specialize in providing survey preparation and continuous survey readiness services to help you provide safe and compliant care.

We were founded in 1999 by Anne Barrins, former Joint Commission surveyor and succeeded by Julia Finken, former Joint Commission surveyor, Associate Director of Business Development for the Home Care Program, and Executive Director of Business Development for the Behavioral Health Care and Psychiatric Hospital Programs and Yvonne Rockwood, former Regional Associate Director for the Eastern Business Development Division at The Joint Commission for Community Behavioral Health Care Services.