The Joint Commission, a nonprofit organization that sets health-care standards and accredits health-care facilities that meet those standards, specifies that nutrition screening be conducted within 24 hours after admission to a hospital or other health-care facility even weekends and holidays. The Joint Commission allows facilities to determine screening criteria and how risk is defined. For instance, a hospital may use serum creatinine level as a screening criterion, with a level greater than 2.5 mg/dL defined as"high risk" because the majority of their patients are elderly and the prevalence of chronic renal problems is high. The Joint Commission also leaves the decision of who performs the screening up indi vidual facilities. Because the standard applies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, staff nurses are often responsible for completing the screen as part of the admission process. Clients who"pass" the initial screen are rescreened after a specified amount of time to determinc if their status has changed