Joint Commission Names New President, Home Care Accreditation Execs

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill.–A New York physician with a strong track
record in patient safety and quality improvement in medical care
will take the reins as president of The Joint Commission, the
accrediting organization announced last week.

Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H., will assume his new
duties Jan. 1. He is currently the Edmond A. Guggenheim professor
of health policy and chairman of the department of health policy at
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, as well as the executive vice
president for excellence in patient care at the Mount Sinai Medical
Center.

Chassin succeeds Dennis O’Leary, M.D., who has been at the
organization’s helm for 21 years. O’Leary will continue in his role
until the end of the year before becoming President Emeritus in
2008.

Chassin isn’t the only change to The Joint Commission’s roster
of executives. Also last week, the accreditor named Debra Zak,
Ph.D., R.N., as executive director of its home care accreditation
program and promoted Robert Floro, R.R.T., to director.

In announcing the changes, the commission said both Zak and
Floro bring broad experience to their new positions.

Zak, whose role will be to advocate for accreditation for home
care companies, has been with The Joint Commission for 15 years,
serving most recently as field director of surveyor management and
development in the division of accreditation and certification
operations. She also has worked as a surveyor and as an associate
director of standards interpretation. Before joining The Joint
Commission, she worked in the home care field and as a hospital
nurse.

Zak succeeds Mary Ann Popovich, who retired earlier this year.
(See HomeCare Monday, April 2.)

Floro, who will concentrate on the DMEPOS aspects of
accreditation, was most recently senior associate director of The
Joint Commission’s home care program. He was previously a general
manager for American HomePatient in central and eastern Kentucky,
and also held leadership positions with Respro Home Care in
Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee.

The Joint Commission’s home care accreditation program was
launched in 1988 and has accredited more than 3,400 organizations
with over 10,000 locations.