Central Fabrication FAQs

It takes approximately three to four months after we receive and approve your application for the entire accreditation process from application to survey decision.

You must have the appropriate personnel on staff before submitting your application. Please refer to the Central Fabrication Accreditation Guide for an overview of the credentialing requirements.

Most CFab accreditations expire every five years. At that time, you'll need to reapply, and ABC will conduct another onsite survey.

If granted full accreditation, your accreditation will be valid for five years.

No – you are only required to comply with the standards relevant to the services your facility provides. Please use the Custom Standards Tool to get a personalize list of standards you must comply with based on the services your facility provides.

DO NOT submit your application until you are ready for your on-site survey.

If you’ve already submitted your application and don’t think you are ready for your on-site survey, we recommend that you place your application on hold until you feel you are prepared. Please note that placing your application on hold removes you from the survey process. Once you remove your hold, your application resets to that date.

You must request hold status in writing 30 business days in advance. You can request a maximum six month hold on your application; from the date your application was approved. In addition, you must notify us in writing when you are ready to remove the hold. We will send you a courtesy reminder prior to the deadline, but if we do not hear from you, you must resubmit your application along with the appropriate fees.

No. As long as someone can allow the surveyor on site, answer questions and access documents, the owner is not required to be present.

Results are emailed and mailed 4-6 weeks after your on-site survey. If you have questions about the timeframe or have not received your results after 6 weeks, please email accreditation@abcop.org with your facility’s name and address and we will resolve the issue.

Electronic copies can be downloaded any time via the links provided in your decision email. Hard copy reprints are available for $25 each and can be ordered directly from your facility’s MY ABC account.

ABC may request a CAP for any of the following reasons:

• You receive an overall failing score
• You receive an overall passing score that falls below the passing threshold for a full five-year accreditation
• You missed standards that are considered mandatory, regardless of overall score. These standards are:

If we request a CAP, your accreditation is not final until your CAP has been approved. If you fail to submit a CAP by the deadline, your application will be denied, and any existing accreditation may be revoked. You will then need to submit a new application, including all fees, for an additional on-site survey.

No. However, if you are required to have an additional on-site survey, you will be notified in your accreditation decision letter. Resurveys do require additional fees.

Please use our CAP template .  Your CAP should include:

• Your facility’s name and address(es)
• A written plan that address all standards marked Partially Compliant (P) or Non-Compliant (N)
• Documentation/evidence for each N and P standard
• Copies of all completed documentation (forms, patient notes, logs, training notes, etc.) showing that changes have been made. No blank templates or forms with sample data!
• Copies of any meeting minutes or agendas that show that training has been completed
• Copies of updated policies – please don’t send your entire Policy and Procedure manual only copies of the policies you have updated.

Note: If a completed annual review for your facility is part of the documentation needed for your CAP, we ask that you go ahead and perform the review with the information you have available, even if the scheduled date for that review is after your CAP deadline. This will help us better evaluate your accreditation status.

Remember - DO NOT send original documents, as items submitted to ABC will not be returned. DO make sure all PHI is blacked out before sending it to us!

Please email your CAP to accreditation@abcop.org or fax to (703) 842-8027.

Upon receipt of your CAP, we will send you an email confirmation. If you have not received an email confirmation, please email us at accreditation@abcop.org.

Your facility’s CAP is due within 60 days of your decision email. Your deadline will be stated in your decision email and decision letter.

A document submitted to ABC demonstrating your facility’s compliance with one or more standards that were in question after your on-site survey.

Address each standard marked N (Non-Compliant) or P (Partially Compliant) in the following example format:

No. You must use the format as described above. Any documentation submitted to ABC is not returned, so please do not send any Policy and Procedure manuals!

If we need more information to make a final decision, you will have one more opportunity to submit documentation. You will receive a second request letter with a new deadline and details about what information is still needed.