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Although hospital service volumes decreased significantly in 2020, health system leaders expect... The coronavirus pandemic has exposed inequities in the U.S. healthcare system, particularly for... To help combat drug-resistant bacteria, the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care... By the end of the study, Truman reported that its patient outcomes had improved, low-harm errors... Mac's Safety Space: I guess this week’s entry (as it appears that Spring is actually going to spring) falls into the “a little bit of this, a little bit of that” category; nothing monumentally earth-shattering, but (hopefully) useful. | | |
Healthcare Life Safety Compliance | | What does it take to turn an already well-performing hospital into a high reliability organization (HRO)? In 2016, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) decided to undertake a three-year project to find out. For the project, they used the high reliability hospital (HRH) model developed by the VHA’s National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS). The HRH model is open to the public and is based on HRO principles—leadership commitment, a culture of safety, and unit-based process improvement. Check your liquid oxygen storage and supply systems frequently to ensure they aren’t overtaxed if you experience a surge in COVID-19 patients. If you need more morgue space, be sure there is a sufficient power source for any refrigerated trucks or other equipment, and work with your suppliers so you can get heavy-duty body bags for obese patients.
Also ensure staff are trained in how to handle bodies, including lift equipment, and review OSHA and CDC mortuary safety requirements. The number of COVID-19 patients continues to rise and fall, sometimes county by county, across the nation as the federal government works to get out a vaccine against the novel 2019 coronavirus. | | |
Healthcare Safety Leader | | CMS and accreditation organizations continue to target emergency preparedness plans and how hospitals are learning from the current public health emergency. Most emergency operations plans (EOP) crafted before the COVID-19 pandemic focused on mass casualty events or natural disasters, notes Kenneth E. Aaron, MD, a former physician surveyor with The Joint Commission (TJC) and now a consultant with Nash Healthcare Consulting with Geffers & Associates, based in El Paso, Texas. Few, if any, had a plan for potentially being overwhelmed by an infectious disease, says Aaron, especially one as long-lasting as COVID-19. CMS and accreditation organizations continue to target emergency preparedness plans and how hospitals are learning from the current public health emergency. Drug diversion in healthcare facilities has been the subject of increasing focus by regulatory authorities in the past several years. In many cases, the expectations of these authorities are not explicit in regulations but come to light in the settlements reached between the Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and facilities where violations or poor practices are identified. In general, DEA and other authorities expect facilities to adhere to the best available practices for patient safety and drug security, regardless of whether those practices are spelled out in published regulations. Consequently, in terms of expectations by regulatory authorities, there is no real distinction between what is required and what is considered to be best practice. The technology and understanding of how to deal with drug diversion is evolving more quickly than regulations can be rewritten, and facilities are expected to keep abreast of the best practices available. | | |
Medical Environment Update | | Mental health has deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients no longer have access to their normal support systems and outlets, while changes and disruptions to daily life have become the norm. The pandemic has only exacerbated an existing mental health crisis in America that affects millions every day. Even with states now distributing COVID-19 vaccines, the toll on Americans’ psyche won’t go away when the coronavirus does, said Michelle Williams, dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, during a January webinar on mental health. | | |
| Rate our newsletters! What do you think about HLSC, HSL, and MEU? | | To do that, we are reaching out to subscribers to schedule short, one-on-one calls where you can share your thoughts on our newsletters. These calls would be 10-15 minutes and we'll also accept typed answers. Please email us at bward@hcpro.com with either your availability or your typed answers. Thanks for you for reading! Brian & A.J. | | |
Hospital Safety Newsletters | | Sign up for our monthly newsletters, and get an article each week! Healthcare Life Safety Compliance This award-winning monthly resource simplifies confusing code references so you can better protect your facility. You need Healthcare Life Safety Compliance to keep you up to date on the latest changes to the Life Safety Code (LSC), as well as The Joint Commissions Life Safety standards, NFPA codes, and related fire protection provisions to ensure the safety of patients, visitors, and employees. Hospital Safety Leader With a Hospital Safety Center membership, you?ll gain complete access to HSL, a16-page monthly publication that provides safety professionals with crucial information and clear-cut guidance on how to improve and ensure hospital safety. Medical Environment Update Keeping safety professionals up to speed with the always-changing policies of OSHA, CDC, EPA, and other healthcare regulatory agencies. Discover workplace health and safety tips written with facilities like yours in mind. | | |
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