The Joint Commission discontinued its assisted living accreditation program, effective January 1, 2006. However, The Joint Commission will continue to provide a full array of support services and oversight to organizations accredited under this program through the end of each organization’s respective accreditation award period. No new accreditation surveys or resurveys under this program. The Joint Commission created the accreditation program for assisted living organizations in order to leverage improvements in the quality and safety of care provided by these organizations. The Joint Commission believes that this impact was realized in those organizations that sought and achieved accreditation. However, relatively small numbers of assisted living facilities have pursued accreditation as a safety and quality improvement process. This lack of demand has impaired The Joint Commission’s ability to broadly impact the safety and quality of care in these fields. In taking this action, The Joint Commission intends to focus its finite resources on those service settings accredited under its larger and more successful accreditation programs. The Joint Commission believes that this investment will have more enduring impacts on improving the safety and quality of health care in this country.