SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota's beleaguered state-run mental health hospital is operating without accreditation from a widely used industry review organization.

The Human Services Center in Yankton has never been accredited by the Joint Commission, a nonprofit that certifies best practices at more than 21,000 health care organizations.

Mental health advocates tell the Argus Leader that going through the accreditation process could have helped the facility avoid recently exposed problems. They have included high staff turnover, a rising number of patient attacks on staff, poor record-keeping and misuse of restraints to control potentially unruly subjects.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard's office downplayed the importance of accreditation, characterizing the seal of approval as an unnecessary expense.

Daugaard last month said he'll bring in a quality assurance officer from a private group to monitor the hospital.

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