Candidacy Process

Candidacy Process

The CAHME Candidacy Program, which allows a program to be considered for Candidate Status, is designed to establish communication, assistance and continuity between CAHME and programs in healthcare management seeking CAHME accreditation. The “Candidate” designation indicates that a program has voluntarily committed to participate in a systematic plan of quality enhancement and continuous improvement so that CAHME accreditation is a feasible and operational objective within five years. However, Candidacy status does not indicate an accredited status, nor does it guarantee eventual accreditation.

Steps of the Candidacy Process

The Candidacy process can seem overwhelming at first. The assembled chart works to guide you through the process and help you understand what is needed each step of the way. We look forward to helping you in this step to become a CAHME Candidate program.

Eligibility

Before the Candidacy process can begin, an Eligibility statement must be completed and accepted. To begin that process, register for a free account on the CAHME Accreditation Management Portal (CAMP) and complete the Eligibility statement. Eligibility requirements can be found within the Self-Study Handbook.

CAHME will respond regarding acceptance of your application within 7-14 business days.

For assistance creating an account, contact Tecia Mentzer, Program Development Coordinator, via tmentzer@cahme.org or 301-298-1820 Ext. 705.

Introduction Call

Before the Candidacy Process begins, schedule an introductory call with CAHME’s Program Development Team. This team will help to guide you through the Candidacy Process and answer any questions you may have on the way.

CAHME will provide Introductory Call information as part of the response regarding acceptance of your eligibility application.

For assistance scheduling an Introductory Call, contact Tecia Mentzer, Program Development Coordinator, via tmentzer@cahme.org or 301-298-1820 Ext. 705.

Candidacy Application

Upon approval of the Eligibility statement, the program will begin a full application for Candidacy. The Self-Study Handbook is used to gain direction on completing the Candidacy application, a subset of the full Self-Study, within CAMP. Candidacy application due date is either February 15 or October 15. CAHME hosts a Candidate Program Roundtable (CPR) Series prior to each application deadline. It is highly encouraged to attend these CRP sessions before application submission.

The time between Eligibility statement acceptance and Candidacy application submission is typically 5 months.

For assistance with the Candidacy application, contact Tecia Mentzer, Program Development Coordinator, via tmentzer@cahme.org or 301-298-1820 Ext. 705.

Candidacy Notification

The Candidacy Committee meets twice a year, in the spring and the fall, to review Candidacy applications. Following the Candidacy Committee decision, the program is notified of either acceptance or a need for an application resubmission. If accepted, the program is provided with the suggested self-study year which will align with the program’s academic year.

The program is notified of the Candidacy Committee decision within a week of the committee meeting.

For questions on the Candidacy process, contact Tecia Mentzer, Program Development Coordinator, via tmentzer@cahme.org or 301-298-1820 Ext. 705.

Post-Decision Call

Following the Candidacy decision, CAHME Management will reach out to schedule a call. The call will review available resources, areas of improvement and timeline of next steps.

CAHME Management will contact the program director within two weeks of the Candidacy Committee decision.

For Introduction Call assistance, contact Eric Brichto, VP of Accreditation Operations, via ebrichto@cahme.org or 301-298-1820 Ext. 4.
For Deferral Call assistance, contact Tecia Mentzer, Program Development Coordinator, via tmentzer@cahme.org or 301-298-1820 Ext. 705.