The Joint Commission put a formal “sentinel event” procedure in place in 1996 to help hospitals improve safety after adverse events.
According to the procedure, state officials must investigate the incident to protect the hospital’s Gold Seal of Approval for accreditation. Officials must do so within 45 days of the incident, according to federal policy.
If a hospital ignores the incident, the Accreditation Committee can put the hospital on Accreditation Watch. Continued refusal to permit review could lead to [an] eventual loss of accreditation,” the Joint Commission’s policy states.
According to the article, there were 196 sentinel events at New Hampshire hospitals in 2012. A year later there were 228.
The last major sentinel event took place in January 2014 when two individuals were assaulted at Manchester, N.H.-based EliotHospital.
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