The prolonged social isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has created unique challenges for psychiatric hospitals and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ICF/IID) that often depend on a patient’s family, caregivers, and friends to provide...
Consider joining forces with local or even statewide hospitals to find beds for patients during an emergency surge. The plan could improve patient care while saving precious resources like money, manpower, and staff energy when setting up alternate care sites.
In case you missed it, here’s a roundup of breaking news from the Accreditation & Quality Compliance Center since Inside Accreditation & Quality was last published.
Review your hospital’s inventory of different types of sprinkler heads, and then ensure you have at least six spare sprinkler heads for each type and temperature rating of those installed in your facility. Those spare sprinkler heads will need to be readily available and stored in a cabinet...
The last few months of managing a pandemic have exhausted you. But you still need to prepare for that upcoming survey, whenever it happens, whether it’s a virtual review or an on-site visit.
Start by taking a look back at your last survey report as well as last year’s environment of care...
CMS announced in 2019 that, in an attempt to address complaints that hospital surveys to validate findings by accreditation organizations (AO) were done too long after the fact and that facilities were faced with double survey duty, it would test a program to conduct its work at the same time...
Expect accrediting organizations (AO) to get even tougher on problems found within the physical environment after yet another critical CMS report to Congress about the agency’s oversight of AOs. CMS also expressed concerns...
Set up clear communication with your hospital staff and remain open to feedback as you receive and administer the COVID-19 vaccines.
Work with supervisors and other leadership to schedule staff vaccinations and, if possible, work around shifts so that workers who do experience symptoms...
It might take weeks or months before the U.S. gets the COVID-19 vaccine out to all of those who want it. The CDC and most states are first offering the shots to healthcare workers and other essential personnel.
Whether you are a hospital or off-campus location, you must take several key...
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated its guidance on how employers can navigate federal anti-discrimination laws while requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
On December 16, the EEOC added a section on how COVID-19 vaccines interact with the legal...
