The Joint Commission (TJC) ended the year with a flurry of reminders about new and revised standards for 2022, many of which had either been announced before or were otherwise expected.
They include a rewritten Emergency Management (EM) chapter, released on December 17.
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.
The new, temporarily suspended CMS interim final rule (IFR) that requires staff vaccinations against COVID-19 will supersede state or local laws or orders that prevent vaccine mandates, notes Marge McFarlane, PhD, MT(ASCP), CHFM, CHSP, CJCP, HEM, MEP, with Superior Performance...
Located in the Mojave Desert, Ridgecrest Regional Hospital in Ridgecrest, California, is a critical access hospital that is closer to Las Vegas than it is a major earthquake fault line. Still, there have been minor temblors, so an earthquake had been on their list of potential emergency events...
If your hospital or its satellite buildings are co-located with other healthcare facilities, you now face slightly fewer requirements than first proposed for ensuring compliance with acute care Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoP) when sharing services with entities not...
In the upcoming year, surveys will include new standards, revised requirements, modified processes and procedures, and a continued focus on infection control and fire safety. However, none of that promises to be more difficult than facing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conduct your drills for maternal hemorrhage and maternal severe hypertension/preeclampsia by the end of 2021. Be sure they include a multidisciplinary team to debrief and evaluate how well you performed.
Staff education and orientation on procedures to handle those emergencies will be...
In preparing for your upcoming survey, review how your facility stands up to the top 10 most challenging standards within the physical environment outlined by Herman A. McKenzie, MBA, CHSP, director of engineering for TJC’s Standards Interpretation Group during the 2021...
Much-needed holiday happiness might be around the corner, but now’s the time to review your hospital attire and holiday decoration policies. Then remind managers and staff what the expectations are for costumes and decking those halls.
