At its July 17-18 meeting, the Joint Commission's Board of Commissioners approved a modification to the Sentinel Event Policy and Procedures which allows accredited organizations 45 days from the event, or of becoming aware of the event, to complete an acceptable root cause analysis before being at risk of being placed on Accreditation Watch. This action takes effect immediately. Previously, organizations were required to submit an acceptable root cause analysis within 30 days of the event or of becoming aware of the event. The 45-day time frame applies whether or not the organization chooses to self report the sentinel event.