Joseph L. Cappiello is the chief operating officer for the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program, which is authorized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to survey hospitals for compliance with the Medicare Conditions of Participation and Coverage. He has served in this capacity at HFAP since October 2011.
Prior to joining HFAP, Mr. Cappiello worked as vice president of accreditation operations at The Joint Commission. At The Joint Commission, he oversaw the surveyor cadre of more than 500 people and the sentinel event unit that focuses on preventing "never" events, including retained foreign objects and fatal medication errors. He also directed the office of quality management, which served as a "care complaint department" for the organization and would investigate reports. Mr. Cappiello also led his own consultancy to help healthcare facilities improve and maintain compliance with accreditation standards.
Mr. Cappiello started his career in healthcare as a Navy nurse, and it was there that he acquired an interest in clinical quality. "I realized that you can be the best nurse or the best physician or the best respiratory therapist, but you end up dealing with only one patient at a time," he says. "I thought if I could get to a position to make my influence felt on a grander scale, that I had the chance — along with those that are likeminded with me — to change healthcare for the better on a national scale. We do have a chance to make things better if we understand what the challenges are, and we find reasonable and workable solutions."
Prior to joining HFAP, Mr. Cappiello worked as vice president of accreditation operations at The Joint Commission. At The Joint Commission, he oversaw the surveyor cadre of more than 500 people and the sentinel event unit that focuses on preventing "never" events, including retained foreign objects and fatal medication errors. He also directed the office of quality management, which served as a "care complaint department" for the organization and would investigate reports. Mr. Cappiello also led his own consultancy to help healthcare facilities improve and maintain compliance with accreditation standards.
Mr. Cappiello started his career in healthcare as a Navy nurse, and it was there that he acquired an interest in clinical quality. "I realized that you can be the best nurse or the best physician or the best respiratory therapist, but you end up dealing with only one patient at a time," he says. "I thought if I could get to a position to make my influence felt on a grander scale, that I had the chance — along with those that are likeminded with me — to change healthcare for the better on a national scale. We do have a chance to make things better if we understand what the challenges are, and we find reasonable and workable solutions."