In the News This Month
Greetings everyone and welcome summer!
We hope you will enjoy your time with family and friends. However, while June is considered the beginning of several months of vacation and relaxation it is also recognized as national safety month. Therefore, our articles this month will touch upon two very different but important areas for improvement we see organizations struggle with in the field.
The use of chemical agents in healthcare organizations is essential to ensure effective disinfection and sterilization. However, safe handling, storage and use practices that are designed to safeguard staff and their patients are often not a top priority for healthcare organizations who are challenged with addressing the complexities of patient care. Chris Pratt's article, "Safe Handling Practices for Hazardous Chemicals" outlines procedures to follow to ensure safety when reviewing your plan for hazardous chemical use.
Another hot topic is focused and ongoing practitioner performance evaluations. FPPE and OPPE are important components of the medical staff process for granting and maintaining practice privileges in a healthcare organization. A robust, meaningful program is essential to an organization's quality and patient safety programs. Denise Smith's article, "FPPE-OPPE, Lessons Learned," reviews what these two components mean, the difference between the two, and what to consider when developing a robust program.
We hope you find these articles informative and helpful in assisting you with your ongoing regulatory readiness. Please feel free to reach out to us at info@courtemanche-assocs.com with any topics you would like to see featured or for any service needs you may have.
Safe Handling Practices for Hazardous Chemicals
About the Authors
Christopher Pratt, MS, BSN, HACP
Chris Pratt is a Senior Consultant with Courtemanche and Associates with more than 33 years in clinical and leadership experience working in varying healthcare positions from the bedside to the Boardroom. In this role, he is responsible for assessing healthcare organizations’ readiness for licensing, accreditation, and regulatory compliance. He is trained in the survey process, auditing approach and survey outcome determination utilized by The Joint Commission, DNV, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and other regulatory agencies and accrediting organizations. He assists organizations with post-survey activities, education, patient safety strategies, and quality improvement initiatives and has experience in various health care settings including acute care, behavioral health, and ambulatory care settings.
The Importance of FPPE and OPPE Data
About the Authors
Joseph Esch, MBA CHFM
Joseph Esch is a Life safety surveyor and consultant. He is trained under the HFAP Acute Care and Critical Access Hospital requirements, as well as The Joint Commission accreditation requirements for the physical environment, fire safety, Life Safety Code®, and Emergency Management chapters. Joseph has 14 years in healthcare, his primary focus is the operations, plant and the physical environment. He has assisted in the planning and initial startup of facility programs in several acute care facilities, including the implementation of CMMS, compliance program, capital forecasting, and facility condition indexing and has been chairman of the EOC committee. He currently holds a Certified Healthcare Facility Manager certification issued by the American Hospital association in 2015 and is a member of the American Society of Healthcare Engineers and the local chapter of Chesapeake Area for Healthcare Engineers.
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