Island View RTC Completes Joint Commission Re-Accreditation Survey

I am pleased to announce that Island View RTC has successfully completed its tri-annual Joint Commission unannounced survey last month. Island View RTC is one of a few Joint Commission accredited (formerly "JCAHO") facilities within our industry and we are proud of our status. This accreditation and our maintenance of it acknowledges our level of commitment to families, residents and referral sources for delivering a high quality, ethically sound, and robust treatment program. Maintaining this accreditation also allows us to bill insurance providers for care, allowing families' greater access to the renowned Island View milieu-therapy based program.

Completion of this Joint Commission survey last month completes the "trilogy" of surveys, inspections and site visits relative to our three areas of external accountability. Last fall we hosted a site visit from representatives of the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS) as part of our mid-term academic accreditation. The survey team was incredibly impressed with the Island View academic program and commented that the marks we received were "the highest of any program recently surveyed." Judi Jacques, academic director was acknowledged as running a robust, student-centered and competent full service academic program. The prioritization of resources dedicated to supporting a whole class, single-subject traditional classroom modeled academic program was evident to the review team and we were re-accredited.

Later in the fall of last year we hosted the State of Utah Licensing Department for our annual inspection. Again, we impressed the licensing agent who reviewed resident files, interviewed residents, interviewed staff, reviewed staff training records and files, and thoroughly inspected the facility. We successfully passed the inspection with flying colors and the comment from the surveyor was that her experience was "the best yet" in her experience with Island View.

The recent Joint Commission survey finalized our external reviews and scrutiny for this period and again we were able to demonstrate our competency, professionalism and dedication to our residents and families. The surveyor was impressed with our quality and the comments of the residents, in particular unsolicited comments such as "the staff here really cares about us as residents". The Joint Commission review coincided with one of our monthly New Parent Workshops so the surveyor was able to see how we involve families in our clinically oriented approaches.

All in all, my past 18 months at the helm of Island View have been very rewarding. I continue to be impressed with the level of dedication and competence of the leadership and staff. In particular, the contributions and professionalism of Judi Jacques, academic director; Steve Lancaster, clinical/program director, Kirk Simon, medical director and Laura Burt, admissions director are why we have been able to continue with the high levels of accreditation, licensure and reputation for so long.

Thank you all for your continued support, trust and confidence in Island View. Please let me know if you have any questions.

About Island View RTC:
Island View RTC is a program of Aspen Education Group, the nation's leading provider of therapeutic education programs for struggling or underachieving young people. As part of the Aspen continuum, Island View RTC offers a highly structured, clinically integrated, and academically robust safe and secure setting for teens at risk of self-harm, running away, or who are clinically complex. Aspen's services range from short-term intervention programs to residential treatment, and include a variety of therapeutic settings such as boarding schools, outdoor behavioral health programs and special needs summer camps, allowing professionals and families the opportunity to choose the best setting to meet a student's unique academic and emotional needs.

Aspen Education Group is a member of CRC Health Group, the most comprehensive network of specialized behavioral care services in the nation. For over two decades, CRC Health has been achieving successful outcomes for individuals and families.

For more information, please call Island View toll free at 866-952-7930 or visit www.islandview-rtc.com