Be sure that your leadership has signed off on workplace violence assessments and that water management plans are being acted upon as you prepare for your next survey with The Joint Commission.
One of the hardest parts of being a facilities manager can be keeping track of policies, procedures, logs, maintenance, equipment checks, and other documents that can mean the difference between a successful survey and a difficult plan of correction.
Review your workplace violence prevention program to ensure staff are protected from violent patients. That includes the use of engineering controls. A solid program might not only save your staff from harm, but also save your facility from deficiencies during survey and hefty fines from OSHA.
OSHA’s two COVID-19-related emergency temporary standards (ETS) requiring specific worker protections as well as vaccinations are both on hold for now but you may still be held responsible for those worker protections.
In 2022, CMS plans to restart its pilot project to improve validation surveys but is likely to continue pressure on accrediting organizations (AO) to be more vigilant in finding deficiencies in physical environment (PE), infection control (IC), fire safety, and patients’ rights.
Healthcare Safety Leader asked Brad Keyes, CHSP, owner of Keyes Life Safety Compliance and a consultant and expert on the Life Safety Code®, for tips about safety and compliance with washing machines and dryers in patient laundry rooms in...
Check manufacturer’s instructions for use (IFU) as well as nationally recognized standards when updating your policy on the regular maintenance and cleaning of washing machines and dryers used for patient belongings.
Surveyor concerns will be about infection control (IC), says ...
Plan now for how you are going to flush toilets if you lose water for several hours or even days, or you might find yourself and your staff having to deal with toilet paper disposal by hand.
During a prolonged and extreme cold snap in February 2021, Houston Methodist West Hospital lost...
