Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc.
Growth, Expansion & Setting the Bar High
ACHC has planned a major expansion with a new 66,000-square-foot headquarters set to open in late 2004.
“It’s an exciting time to join ACHC!” José Domingos, CEO of the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc. (ACHC), says enthusiastically. “I’ve said that often over the last several years, and each time I say it, it has actually been true.”
José joined the ACHC in November 2011 as vice president of marketing and business development, and just a year later, the goal-oriented Penn State University engineering graduate had assumed the role of CEO. Under his leadership, the nonprofit healthcare accreditation company has grown and expanded rapidly, moving into global markets. José, who was born and spent his early childhood in Portugal, predicts more growth on the way.
“When I joined ACHC, we were primarily serving the eastern part of the U.S. since we were founded here in Raleigh,” José says. “Since then, we’ve expanded our reach to all 50 states and U.S. territories and now have locations in Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia as well.”
What exactly does ACHC do? The organization works with over 22,000 healthcare organizations to deliver accreditation certification and/or inspection services. They develop standards or requirements for healthcare providers that are then used as guidelines for how they run their business and how they provide care to their patients. They conduct surveys or audits of organizations seeking accreditation to help them identify issues and areas where they may need to improve.
“We take a collaborative, educational, and partnering approach to our survey process,” explains José. “We tell organizations, ‘you want us to find your issues because we are your accreditor, not a government or regulatory body.’ It’s better for us to identify how to close those gaps because there are fewer financial implications if we find and correct the issues versus regulators discovering the issues.”
ACHC strives to be the preferred choice of accrediting agency in each market they serve which includes everything from hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and clinical laboratories to pharmacies, home health and hospice, durable medical equipment providers, sleep centers, behavioral health facilities, and assisted living centers.
According to José, ACHC’s relationship with TowneBank goes back to before it merged with Paragon Bank in 2018. José enjoys working closely with Brian Reid, president of TowneBank Triangle.
“We’ve done so much business together, and Brian and I have become personal friends,” says José. “Most recently, TowneBank is our partner of choice in the financing of our $28 million expansion project which is slated to be complete by December 2024. I feel like our organizations have kind of grown up together, and as our need for services has grown, TowneBank has been with us every step of the way.”
ACHC purchased property next door to its current office off Weston Parkway in Cary and is in the process of building a 66,000-square-foot headquarters to consolidate staff from another leased location 15 minutes across town.
In addition to loan services and checking and savings in money market accounts, TowneBank provides ACHC with treasury services such as accounts payable and fraud protection, reporting and liquidity services, and wire services. They are in the process of expanding their relationship to include Towne Insurance.
“It’s been a great partnership,” says José. “While certainly the services they offer are important, perhaps even more important is the approach TowneBank takes to expanding their services without losing the personal touch. I’ve known Brian for quite a long time. And it’s those relationships that Towne has built regionally that are really the strength of their business.”
José Domingos serves as CEO of ACHC and is enthusiastic about the nonprofit healthcare company's success.José is appreciative of Towne’s help in funding the expansion project, and he cannot hide his enthusiasm. “It’s going to be an impressive facility once we get it built. It will be a four-story building with a two-level parking garage, and we’ve asked the architects to get more creative with the design of the building to make it a showpiece. It will still be highly functional, but I think it will be interesting for our employees and our guests. It’s an exciting time to be at ACHC and this is just another example of it!”
For more information on the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc., visit ACHC.org.