(MURFREESBORO) The VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (RRTP) cleared more than 1,500 internationally-accepted standards to earn re-accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) for the second time.

CARF International is a nonprofit organization that provides accreditation and certification services to more than 65,000 health and human services organizations in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

“Accreditation ensures that [RRTP] are meeting regulations and standards set by a recognized, external organization. TVHS obtaining re-accreditation for three years shows our commitment to continuously improve our services, manage risk, distinguish the care provided to our Veterans and aligns with our journey to being a high reliability organization,” said Tiffany Smith, accreditation readiness for the Office of Quality and Patient Safety with TVHS.

The TVHS RRTP facility is located at the Alvin C. York VA Medical Center in Murfreesboro. Staff members help Veterans deal with substance abuse, homelessness, mental health, and unemployment through its 24-hour therapeutic and educational programs like rehabilitation, health maintenance, community support. The facility has more than 30 beds and is a voluntary rehabilitation program.

“What CARF is good at is their standards are more person focused. They look at our individual approach, how we treat each Veteran individually and as a group,” said Catherine Graham, nurse manager for the RRTP.

The mission of CARF is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process and continuous improvement services that center on enhancing the lives of persons served, according to its website.

VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System is an integrated tertiary health care system comprised of two hospitals, the Alvin C. York Campus in Murfreesboro, and the Nashville Campus, as well as more than a dozen community-based outpatient clinics located in Tennessee and Kentucky. TVHS provides ambulatory care, primary care, and secondary care in acute medicine and surgery, specialized tertiary care, transplant services, spinal cord injury outpatient care, and a full range of extended care and mental health services.