All Entries in the "Administrative" Category

Check out the brochure for the Hospital Safety Center Symposium

It’s hard to believe, but we’re only about four months away from our 3rd Annual Hospital Safety Center Symposium, which takes place May 14-15 in Las Vegas. This year’s agenda and speaker roster is the biggest yet, and at only one-and-half days, we keep your time out of the hospital to a minimum while giving you plenty of value.

Click here to download our full-color, PDF brochure, which lists our faculty bios and full session descriptions.

You have until March 13 to take advantage of our early bird discount, which lets you take $100 off the regular registration price. I hope to see all of you at the 3rd Annual Hospital Safety Center Symposium, as this is going to be a “can’t miss” program.

If you have any further questions about the show, e-mail me.

Today only: Save $200 on our Hospital Safety Center Symposium registration

Hi everyone, it’s Scott Wallask checking in today.

Those of us here at HCPro have been working hard on the 3rd Annual Hospital Safety Center Symposium, which takes place May 14-15 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

We’ve posted the show’s full agenda here, and don’t forget to also check out the bios of our faculty/speakers.

My boss just asked me to make an offer for those of you who like to be “early” early birds: If you write back to me today, I can knock off $200 from the listed $895 price tag to attend (so you’ll pay $695 instead). This is a great offer for those of you who want to attend, as it’s 100 bucks less than our listed early-bird rate.

So if you’re interested in saving $200, e-mail me today…Scott W.

Upcoming EPA deadline, from the latest Briefings on Hospital Safety

Hi everyone, it’s Scott Wallask –

The EPA has an important deadline coming up December 29 regarding ethylene oxide sterilizer loads. That’s our lead story in the current issue of Briefings on Hospital Safety, which is available online for all subscribers to the Hospital Safety Center.

Other articles include:

• Some timely tips about the revised EC standards, which take effect January 1
• How one hospital regained its ground after a document mishap during a Joint Commission survey
• Ten ways to better prepare for a surge in pediatric patients

If you’re not a subscriber to the Hospital Safety Center and want to learn more, click here.

Preview of this month’s Briefings on Hospital Safety

Hi everyone, it’s Scott Wallask logging on today.

I just wanted to remind all Hospital Safety Center subscribers that the latest issue of Briefings on Hospital Safety is available online.

You can check out the following articles:

• An overview of the challenges coming in The Joint Commission’s new life safety chapter
• Why one hospital endured a tough CMS review following two patient suicides
• How moving patients to new buildings offered two hospitals chances to fine-tune their evacuation plans

If you’re not a subscriber to the Hospital Safety Center and want to learn more, click here.

3rd Annual Hospital Safety Center Symposium returns to Vegas May 14-15

Hi everyone, it’s Scott Wallask.

I’m happy to say I’ve already received several e-mails from folks about our 3rd Annual Hospital Safety Center Symposium.

If you’ve haven’t heard already, the symposium takes places take May 14-15, 2009, once again at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

This event is really the high point of the year for us here at HCPro, and I’m excited to announce our tentative speaker line-up:

• Dean Samet, CHSP, director of regulatory compliance for Smith Seckman Reid based in Nashville and former associate director of standards at The Joint Commission
• Joseph Cappiello, president of Simulation Education Services in Oak Brook Terrace, IL, and former vice president of accreditation field operations at The Joint Commission
• Steve MacArthur, safety consultant for The Greeley Company, and primary author of this blog
• Brad Keyes, CHSP, safety consultant for The Greeley Company and a former life safety specialist with The Joint Commission
• Marge McFarlane, MS, CHSP, Wisconsin Hospital Preparedness Program Exercise (HSEEP) coordinator and part-time safety coordinator for Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, WI

Early-bird registration is available, so please plan on joining us at the the 3rd Annual Hospital Safety Center Symposium.

Check out free audio clips with Dean Samet, Steve Mac, and Brad Keyes

• Dean Samet, director of regulatory compliance services at Smith Seckman Reid, who talks about The Joint Commission’s 2008 emergency management standards and what surveyors will focus on
• Brad Keyes, a safety consultant at the Greeley Company, who discusses why smaller hospitals need to pay special attention to the duties of The Joint Commission’s life safety specialists
• Steve MacArthur, primary author of this blog and also a Greeley consultant, who reviews how surveyors look at safety risk assessments under EC.1.10

Looking for someone who recently posted a TB comment to this blog

Hi everyone, it’s Scott Wallask at HCPro checking in.

I’ve got a quick question: We got a comment posted to Steve Mac’s item about TB fit-testing last week, and the comment from our end appears to be plagued by a software bug. We can’t tell who it was who posted the comment.

If you posted to the blog about the TB fit-testing requirement, could you email me privately?

It’s a problem more on our end, we’re not trying to bust anyone’s chops.

Thanks,

Scott W.

swallask@hcpro.com

Is there anybody out there?

I’ve yapped away here for a couple of months now. The warmth of the summer has faded, up here in the Northeast the vivid hues of autumn have also faded, and there are way more leaves on the ground than there are in the trees.

We’ve gone from a fair amount of certainty relative to all things safety to a pretty much wide open expanse of hope, denial, angst, expectation, questions, and answers. Our relatively calm little pool has been whipped into a froth of the unknown. So how are you going to spend the holidays?

When we started this little blogopoly (the spirit of M. Colbert lives), the intent was always to foment (or ferment–sometimes the vernacular gets a little fruity) a conversation for which I would periodically pitch some bon mots to keep the conversation going.

I have heard from some of you (keep those cards and letters coming), but it’s time to see if we can draw some folks a little more out into the light of the blogosphere.

Earlier this month during an audioconference about the known Joint Commission EC changes afoot, we asked folks what they thought their most challenging issues would be in 2008. Now it’s your turn.

What’s turning what little hair you have left to gray? What makes you linger almost lovingly in the antacid section of the big-box warehouse store?

See that little “Comments” link below my post? Click and register, and then you’ll be set up to post your thoughts to my query or any other topic I write about. It’s time to stand up and be counted, heard, and recognized. We want this space to be yours, too.

Let’s get ready to grumble!

You can post comments to Mac’s blog now

Hi folks –

It’s Scott Wallask checking in. I just wanted to let all of you know that the “comments” function is finally up and running for Mac’s Safety Space.

To post a comment, you need to log in as a subscriber or trial user to the Hospital Safety Center, though anyone can read the comments without logging in.

Please let us know what you think of Mac’s postings by submitting a comment or share your experiences on a particular topic.

Thanks,

Scott W.

swallask@hcpro.com

Welcome to the jungle…

I had planned on jumping right in on a favorite subject of mine (the infallibility of Joint Commission surveyors), but upon reflection it seemed a bit precipitous to leap without some words of introduction and maybe a quick look at the ol’ crystal consulting ball before we roll on the serious subjects.

That said, the first order of business ought to be the tenor this new forum is likely to take. While the subjects we will discuss are nothing but serious, please don’t mistake my lightness of tone for a lack of respect or a lack of understanding of how these things impact your every day lives.

I worked at an acute-care hospital in southeastern Massachusetts for some 23 years–starting out in environmental services and finishing my tenure as that organization’s safety officer. Since becoming a consultant six years ago, I’ve completed a number of interim staffing assignments at hospitals throughout the Northeast, in addition to the “regular” consultant-type assignments.

I know exactly the nature and intensity of the pains generated by day-to-day hospital safety operations (sometimes too exactly, but we’ll talk more about that on a slow news day).

I’m sure that over time this forum will evolve to one degree or another–hopefully with much participation from all of you. That said (and yes, I am absolutely aware that I use “that said” a lot, probably more than is necessary), if there’s something you guys would like to see covered in more depth, less depth, Johnny Deppth (alright, a cheap joke, but I couldn’t resist), then write to me. No topic is too obscure or too common to fall out of consideration.

So, bottom line–serious topics, somewhat irreverent responses and opinions, and rock-solid advice. This blog is your blog, this blog is my blog. Let’s make everything we can from it.