CARTHAGE — Accreditation survey season is over, but Carthage Area Hospital has a second group of surveyors inspecting its facilities.

Hospital Administrator Walter S. Becker said the facility is "fine," although, he noted, "We had a couple deficiencies but we corrected them," after a survey was conducted in July.

The arrival of another group of surveyors has led some hospital employees to fear the hospital could be facing the loss of its state accreditation.

A registered nurse at the hospital said Tuesday a rumor is circulating that the institution's accreditation won't be approved by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations this year. The nurse requested to remain anonymous for fear of being fired.

Mr. Becker dismissed the rumor.

"We absolutely are getting accredited," he said. "We're fine."

A spokeswoman for the Joint Commission, Elizabeth Zhani, said the survey taken July 10 at the hospital is still being reviewed and likely will not be posted on the Web site until mid-November. The survey evaluates 16 topics, including emergency management, infection prevention and control and information management.

Service Employees International Union Local 1199 Vice President Kathleen M. Tucker said a union representative reported the surveyors now roaming the facility's halls are from the Joint Commission, but Mr. Becker said the survey is being conducted by DNV (Det Norske Veritas) Healthcare Inc.

Although she didn't know details about the surveys, Ms. Tucker said she thought the timing was odd since they are usually completed in June and July.

DNV Healthcare, based in Houston, Texas, is not yet approved by the federal Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as an accrediting agency, according to the company's Web site. The Web site also says that to receive government reimbursement, a hospital must be accredited by the Joint Commission, the American Osteopathic Association's Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program or a state survey.

Ms. Zhani said losing accreditation also could create issues with coverage by private insurance companies, which can require hospitals to be accredited.

Mr. Becker said some issues had to be resolved after the first survey, but a second survey is being conducted because hospital administrators have chosen to give the institution dual accreditations.

"We elected to upgrade our surveys," he said.

One issue was a gap between the mechanism that is used to extinguish fires in the hospital's kitchen and the building's fire alarm system. Mr. Becker said the two systems had always been separate and it wasn't until the July survey that the discrepancy was caught. He said it was resolved the same day.

Surveyors also found a lack of updated license information for one physician. Mr. Becker said the physician was licensed and the information has been updated.

The registered nurse, however, called the survey a "stopgap" measure to maintain accreditation by using the second survey as a "fallback" to show the hospital passed a survey. The nurse contends there will be an announcement that the hospital did not pass the Joint Commission's survey on Oct. 29.

The source, who has worked in health care management, said surveys usually are expensive, and it is rare for a hospital to have more than one accreditation.

"In the north country, with money as tight as it is, being dually accredited doesn't make much sense," the nurse said.

Mr. Becker said St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica is a dually accredited facility in this area. Sandra Fentiman, the hospital's marketing manager, would not confirm that and declined to comment on the "complicated issue" until mid-November.