Extra fire drill as part of The Joint Commission’s ILSMs

I fielded a question a little while back about using a fire drill as an interim life safety measure (ILSM) under Joint Commission standard LS.01.02.01 EP 11.

The actual verbiage from the pre-2009 standard was that each organization would conduct [more]

Take our poll about the H1N1 vaccine for healthcare workers

As I’m sure you’ve heard in your hospital hallways, there’s a lot of talk about the safety and effectiveness of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine.

The CDC has put healthcare workers who have contact with patients as one of the top priority groups to receive the H1N1 shots when they become available.

We’ve got a poll up on our main HCPro site asking whether you will get an H1N1 vaccine. Click here and then scroll to the bottom of the page to take the poll.

Let us know what you think, and I’ll report back on the results in a few days.

Go ahead, ask your haulers about regulated medical waste

A lot of the rules regarding regulated medical waste live at the state level, and generally the most knowledgeable folks in the food chain are the medical waste disposal people — in other words, your vendors and haulers.

My consultative advice would be [more]

Even with electronic water temperature control, an argument for mixing valves

I caught wind of an organization that uses an electronic water temperature control system that keeps the water temp at 110° F. There’s been some pushback from facilities folks about whether they still need to install a mixing valve.

I would suggest that if the organization has a risk assessment finding that indicates a mixing valve is not necessary, [more]

Evaluating your emergency management inventory process

Joint Commission standard EM.03.01.01, EP 3 requires an annual review of your emergency management inventory process.

This is where you look back at exercises and real events and see [more]

Properly secured medical gas cylinders center on convenience — that’s all

I’m told there was a mention at the ASHE conference that The Joint Commission might introduce a compressed medical gas cylinder standard in 2011.

And what wonders would result from a compressed gas storage standard? Oh yes, that’ll force [more]

New York Times story is a “must read” for emergency planners

The New York Times just published a sad yet enlightening account of what happened at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans in the days after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.

Many of you will remember that Memorial Medical was isolated and without power for days as employees and patients suffered through terrible conditions in the sweltering heat. Much of the story focused on allegations of clinicians euthanizing [more]

From infection control to South Park . . .

CMS is trying to tie hospital-acquired infections to reimbursement. Of course, ratcheting down on reimbursement only [more]

Hospital fire reveals several truths about emergency preparedness

There’s an update on a fire at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, CT, in this week’s issue of our free sister e-newsletter, Emergency Management Alert.

As a consultant, I frequently ask folks what kind of scenarios they are using to comply with EM.03.01.03, EP 3, which mandates an emergency response exercise, including an escalating scenario in which the hospital is unable to be supported by the local community.

One of the truisms I’ve observed over time is that [more]

ASHE may have “had it up to here” with CMS when it comes to damper testing

You can really sense the frustration that ASHE — and more precisely, that of Deputy Executive Director Doug Erickson — has with CMS these days. Just read the latest ASHE bulletin to its members about six-year damper testing and you’ll feel the bad vibes. [more]