Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute Earns Gold Seal of Approval®

NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is pleased to recognize its behavioral health professionals at Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute in Nashville upon earning the Gold Seal of Approval® from The Joint Commission. This is the third consecutive year the Middle Tennessee institute has achieved Top Performer status. The acknowledgement symbolizes a high degree of quality, reflecting the institute’s commitment to providing safe and effective care.

“The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® is recognition of the measures our professionals take every day to ensure they are providing the absolute best care and treatment for a wide array of behavioral health diagnoses,” said E. Douglas Varney, Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. “With advances in therapies available to help people manage their mental health conditions, many more Tennesseans are living productive lives as a result of the work being done at the Middle Tennessee Institute.”

During the past year the institute was evaluated on the following behavioral health care standards: care, treatment, and services; environment of care; leadership; and screening procedures for the early detection of imminent harm. On-site observations and interviews were also conducted.

“We commend Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute for its efforts to elevate the standard of care it provides and to instill confidence in the community it serves,” said Tracy Griffin Collander, Executive Director of The Joint Commission Behavioral Health Care Accreditation program. “Joint Commission accreditation provides behavioral health care organizations with the processes needed to improve in a variety of areas related to the care of individuals and their families,”

Established in 1969, The Joint Commission’s Behavioral Health Care Accreditation program currently accredits more than 2,100 organizations for a three-year period. Accredited organizations provide treatment and services within a variety of settings across the care continuum for individuals who have mental health, addiction, eating disorder, intellectual/developmental disability, and/or child-welfare related needs.

“On behalf of our entire team of behavioral health professionals at Middle, I am honored and humbled by their dedication to serving all those who come to our institute for relief from their mental health conditions,” said Bob Micinski, CEO of Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute. “Our team works together every day in the development and implementation of strategies to improve care for those in our community.”

Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and serves individuals in a 18 county region of the state. It is one of four Regional Mental Health Institutes in Tennessee, providing inpatient behavioral health services for adults. For 2015, Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute has 3,616 admissions.

Our Mission: Provide, plan for, and promote a comprehensive array of quality prevention, early intervention, treatment, habilitation, rehabilitation and recovery support services for Tennesseans with mental illness and substance abuse issues.  Our Vision: To be one of the nation's most innovative and proactive state behavioral health authorities for Tennesseans dealing with mental health and substance abuse problems.  For more information, visit www.tn.gov/behavioral-health.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value.  The Joint Commission accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization, The Joint Commission is the  nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.