SURVEYOR
acute care
Could you elaborate on the connection between ongoing improvement and accreditation?
About day one... Let’s rewind. Were you always interested in accreditation?
Vice President, Acute Care Services Patrick Horine a conversation with
I left “my” AO because I thought I could do more at ACHC. I responded to the way José (Domingos, ACHC President and CEO) talks about the idea of quality improvement vs. “checking a box.” Some providers just want to get through the survey and move on. And those organizations might be providing good care, but they’re not a good fit for ACHC. We want to show you what your issues are so you can fix them to be a better organization. If you want to address the root causes and minimize your risk... If you’re committed to ongoing improvement and collaboration... If you want competent, empowered, confident staff... ACHC is the right fit. I had a great call with a hospital CEO recently about their survey with us. He said his team
I was emphatically not interested in accreditation, healthcare, or really anything except having a good time, which is why I was... “uninvited”
from college. So then I needed a job and the local hospital was hiring. I went to work in the kitchen, delivering the trays to the floors and cleaning them off when they were done. I loved it. I loved talking to the nurses, the doctors, the patients. I loved the relationships, the teamwork, the environment, all of it. I knew immediately I’d found my direction. I went back to college, and eventually to graduate school for hospital administration. My residency was in quality and accreditation. That experience gave me the kind of insight I never would have gotten in the classroom. Every team is involved with the accreditation process. There’s no better way to get exposure to all aspects of an organization. From there I went into business development and operations, and by the age of 29 I was a hospital CEO. So you were “uninvited” from college... and ended up as a CEO? That’s right! I had no business being a CEO at that age, but the thing is, I knew a lot about working in a hospital. The choices I’d made, including the failures, led me to that. It made sense. That’s what I mean about a quality mindset. Life is full of potential paths, and for the most part there’s no wrong choice. Just make one and see where it takes you. If it doesn’t work out, there’s a reason for it. That’s what has worked for me personally, and it’s why ACHC will keep growing. Our entire philosophy is built on adapting and evolving, for ourselves and for our customers.
Before joining ACHC in 2022, Patrick served as President and CEO of DNV Healthcare USA Inc., where he successfully steered the development and launch of a hospital accreditation program. Patrick left that role to lead ACHC’s division of Acute Care Services in 2022. Patrick shares the story—and it’s a good one—of how he came to be involved in accreditation and why he’s so dedicated to driving quality through innovative approaches.
Patrick, you came to ACHC with a unique perspective; you had actually built another accrediting organization from scratch.
Because I knew what I had seen in the hospital. The accreditation surveyors would come in and regurgitate the standard with no explanation. And I’d think, “Hey, I can read the standard. How about some guidance and interpretation?” And where were they after our approval? For all the money we were investing in that accrediting organization, where was their investment in us? It seemed obvious there was a gap in the industry. I decided to build a viable alternative for hospitals looking for more than cookie-cutter, yes/no answers.
complimented the responsiveness of their ACHC Account Advisor and the clinical guidance they received along the way. But more than anything, he appreciated that we didn’t come onsite just to identify
ACHC had a solid foundation with community- based services, and I came on board to help develop their acute care division. I felt a little bit like I had seen my baby grow up, and
here I was about to raise another kid. Except ACHC didn’t have a baby, they had a teenager that just needed some creative guidance to finish growing. I wasn’t starting from ground zero.
deficiencies and say, “Gotcha!” That kind of feedback really means a lot to me, because it’s what I truly want organizations to understand. Accreditation can be more than the survey. What happens between surveys is actually more important. If an organization has good processes in place, the accreditation survey should be a non-issue. No panic, no last-minute crunch time—just business as usual. Hospitals deserve an accreditation experience that improves processes and ensures safe patient care. That’s been my personal quest from day one.
What lessons did you learn from that experience that you still use today?
When did you decide to create an AO? How did that decision come about? I was in hospital administration, which I loved, but I was ready for a new path. So I left to join a consulting firm. They wanted to pursue CMS deeming authority to become a hospital accrediting organization. To which I said, “You’re nuts.” But then I said, “Let’s do it.”
Be patient and persistent. Keep your momentum, even if it’s one tiny baby step each day. You’re still moving forward. Good decision-making really boils down to a quality mindset. Tackle the issue,
see what works. Then take what works and leave what doesn’t. Rinse and repeat.
22 | Volume 2026 | No. 1
achc.org | (855) 937-2242 | 23
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