This ain’t the summer of love (but maybe it could be…)
One of the universal challenges facing Environment of Care/safety committees is the task of actually getting things done in the way of meaningful improvement, generally for the more controversial...
View ArticleVeterans of policy wars
A client I was working with recently had a really good Joint Commission survey from an EC/LS/EM standpoint, but had identified some opportunities buried in some policies that prompted them to earmark...
View ArticleSince when should we let folks consider safety as an option?
Dipping into the mailbag once again, I recall a conversation I had with a client who was, with increasing frequency running in to the “everybody is so busy that they are being careless” situation. At...
View ArticleReasons (not) to be cheerful, part 3
Or perhaps it should be “hit me with your Joint Commission stick”? What follows is a compendium of recent survey findings, some from The Joint Commission (TJC), some from me. So in no particular order:...
View ArticleYour mother should know…but what if she doesn’t?
I’ve noticed a little word popping up in recent survey reports, a word that strikes fear in my heart. I don’t know how widespread this might be, so if you folks have an opportunity to weigh in on this...
View ArticleAnd now for something completely…the same
Time for a quick roundup of some recent survey trends: We’ve talked about the overarching issues with weekly testing of plumbed eyewash stations any number of times over the years and I am always happy...
View ArticleTake our survey for a chance to win $100!
HCPro is asking for your help! To ensure that we meet your training products and services needs in 2012, please take a moment to respond to a short survey. Are you in infection control? Take this...
View ArticleYou’ve got a new favorite…
Generally speaking, we in Safety Land don’t get too involved with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) doings until they show up on our doorstep. But sometimes, the Feds weigh in on...
View ArticleShock the monkey (part x + y to the 10th power) – here we go again…
OK, so now it appears that we’re going to have to rethink how we schedule preventative maintenance (PM) activities on our critical equipment, particularly if that criticality affects patient health and...
View ArticleMirror, mirror on the wall … is that me?
One of the curious things I encounter on an increasingly regular basis is the Dorian Gray-like (but in reverse) effect of the ID badges of folks who’ve worked at an organization for a rather long time....
View ArticleShow up or shut up
Every once in a while (and I don’t think I abuse this privilege, but please feel free to disabuse me of that notion), I like to vent a little regarding those annoyances that can impact how the folks in...
View ArticleBut I got the crystal ball, he said!
And he held it to the light… In their (seemingly) never-ending quest to remain something (I’m not quite sure what that something might be, but I suspect it has to do with continuing bouts of hot water...
View ArticleReefing a sail at the edge of the world…
What to do, what to do, what to do… A couple of CMS-related items for your consideration this week, both of which appear to be rather user-friendly toward accredited organizations. (Why do I have this...
View ArticleYou are so beautiful, to me…
In the interest of a little summertime reading, I wanted to diverge a bit from the usual rant-a-minute coverage (rest assured, the ranting will continue next week—too much going on in the world) and...
View ArticleI said you’ll pay for this mischief…
In this world, or the next! Stand by for news… In this most momentous of years / survey cycles, it appears that there may be at least one more shift in the firmament, that being a transition for a most...
View ArticleThoughts and prayers for Houston; plus, thoughts on required ‘policies’
First off, thoughts and prayers going out to the embattled folks in Texas; I do a fair amount of work in Texas, including the Houston area, and while I have absolute confidence in folks’ ability to...
View ArticleAny world that I’m welcome to…
Sometimes a confluence of happenings makes me really question the legitimacy of coincidence. For example, it can’t possibly be coincidence that our friends in Chicago use the backdrop of September to...
View ArticleSurvey Preparation—When do you start kicking the tires?
In the “old” days, the survey preparation cycle was a fairly well-defined undertaking—you knew (pretty much) when they were coming and about six months before their estimated arrival, prep activities...
View ArticleHealthcare Leadership Culture Moving Forward: What I (probably) didn’t do...
As a frequent traveler, I tend to read a fair amount in transit (my preferred operating system for reading is the traditional “hard copy”, aka “books” most often from the coffers of the public...
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