Accreditation

FreeState Health Plan, an HMO operated by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maryland, has been reduced from three-year to one-year accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.NCQA found FreeState in "partial compliance" -- meaning it "met about half of the requirements" -- in "utilization management," which includes "how fair, consistent and prompt the plan is in making decisions" and "how the plan ensures [that] the approval process does not cause unnecessary problems for members or providers."

The Carroll County Sheriff's Department asked the county commissioners yesterday to fund its effort to become a nationally accredited law enforcement agency within a year. The department won recognition 15 months ago from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, the first step in the process that traditionally leads to stronger crime prevention and control as well as improvements in management practices, confidence among residents and interagency cooperation, according to the commission.

Baltimore International College chefs-in-training dished up free barbecue Saturday to neighbors in Little Italy who worry they are on the verge of losing the four-decade-old culinary and hospitality school. The college learned in June that it would lose its accreditation at the end of August. Its Board of Trustees met Friday to weigh possible mergers or whether to appeal the revocation but has not announced a decision. Meanwhile, the school's nearly 500 students are in limbo. Still, students spooned helpings of barbecued pulled pork and smoked beef brisket, accompanied by homemade pickled red onions, horseradish and green tomato chow-chow slaw, at a block party in the parking lot of the Culinary Arts Center building on Central Avenue.

Curtis Duppins, 5, makes scary claws that drip from his fingers at the Bartholomew day care center in Westminster -- oblivious to the fact that the center is now accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs.Curtis knows that goop made from cornstarch and water "feels like glue" and makes excellent claws.Kathryn Baldwin, 5, knows that what everyone does at the center is play and eat snacks and have lunch and take naps.The school won accreditation in late March. The status means nothing to 3- to 6-year-olds, but it can help parents choose a good child care program, according to the academy.

A team of inspectors will review the Anne Arundel County Police Department's practices this week to determine whether it meets national standards. The evaluation will include a newly installed system to track police officers' use of force, but while the system might win points in the department's quest for accreditation that doesn't mean all officers are completely happy with it. The "personnel early warning system," started early this month, uses a...

Under pressure from Maryland's top health official, a national accreditation organization has reversed itself and turned over to the state its most recent inspection report on the troubled laboratory at Maryland General Hospital. State Health Secretary Nelson J. Sabatini said the inspection report arrived yesterday by Federal Express from the Illinois-based College of American Pathologists. The organization had rebuffed prior requests for the report, contending that it did not have "a relationship with the state of Maryland."

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Pledging to make government child-care centers "models" for the nation, President Clinton directed all federal day care facilities yesterday to obtain independent accreditation based on accepted safety and quality standards.At the same time, Clinton called on Congress to address a "crying unmet need" by acting on comprehensive legislation to make child care more affordable and accessible for preschoolers and school-aged children across the country."We should not let the calendar get in the way of the need for urgent action," Clinton told a group of several hundred people in a community college gymnasium in this blue-collar New England coastal city.

In an effort to stay open, the Baltimore International College said Monday that it "is in conversation" with two out-of-state institutions about a merger that would allow it to remain accredited. The college will lose its accreditation Aug. 31 after the Middle States Commission said this summer it had failed to address long-standing concerns. Losing accreditation would mean the school, which has about 500 students, would lose federal funding. The board of trustees met Friday and decided to continue discussions with the two other unnamed institutions, which offer specialized programs similar to the culinary and hospitality courses at BIC. The announcement was made Monday on the college's website, and no college official agreed to be interviewed.

*Morris Hudson, 30, of Columbia, in charge of mentoring program at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington:No. I think I would likeMaryland to recognize it first and for Howard County to specificallywelcome them in. It's irrelevant whether it's been accredited in other states. I believe in abiding by the rules. I believe in results, but I also believe in paperwork.

The group that accredits most American hospitals is calling for stepped-up efforts to prepare for a terrorist attack or other public emergency, saying that many health care organizations are already overburdened and don't have the funds to adequately respond. In a report issued today, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations urges federal and state governments, health care institutions and other emergency services providers to implement community-based preparedness programs - before disaster strikes.