You have finished the procedure, now what’s next? Prior to sending instruments to Sterile Processing, it is important to remember to remove as much blood and bioburden from the instruments and keep them moist during transport. With Personal Protective Equipment on, rinse or wipe the instruments with water. Never use saline as it will damage …
Enzymatic Spraying of Instruments at Point of Use Read More »
On May 7th, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) released their Interpretive Guidelines for the Interoperability and Patient Access Rule. This rule is designed to provide easier access and establish clearer expectations on the sharing of health information to ensure quality and safe transitions in care. These guidelines were issued and implemented on …
The Joint Commission published in their April issue of EC News; a short article of significance that may go unnoticed. The article announces that effective immediately, their EC-LS surveyors will be surveying the aisle widths within your suites that exist within your health care occupancy spaces. The minimum width for these aisles is 36 inches …
During the early days of the pandemic, finding a source of hand sanitizer was a challenge, particularly for the community. Many new products came onto the market as a result of the increased demand. Earlier this year, the independent lab, Valisure, took on the work of determining if these hand sanitizers were safe. Of the …
During mock surveys I always ask staff what the contact or wet time is for a particular disinfecting wipe. Unless they have changed products recently or are frequently getting different brands due to availability (a result of COVID-19) staff are able to verbalize the correct contact or wet time. The question is, do they know …
How often do we go to the linen closet and say to ourselves, “is this linen safe to put on my patient’s bed?” As a nurse for over 40 years, I do not think that I have ever asked myself that question. I was happy that the linen was there and that I could use …
As of March 15, 2021, The Joint Commission will be reverting back to pre-pandemic survey procedures in light of reduced cases of COVID-19 across the U.S. according to a message that was sent by Mark Pelletier, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nurse Executive of The Joint Commission today. This return to pre-pandemic survey procedures means …
The Joint Commission is Returning to Pre-Pandemic Survey Procedures Read More »
Being ready for situations where your patient requires resuscitation is critical. Staff complete training in basic/advanced life support, and some staff complete more advanced skills in pediatric and neonatal resuscitation, as appropriate. There has been increased focus on drills and simulation to better prepare the team in these life-saving measures. However, has anyone looked at …
How to Keep Your Code Carts from Crashing and Burning Read More »
The Joint Commission has proposed changes to the Resuscitation Standards for Hospital and Critical Access Hospitals. These changes were most recently released December 21, 2020. Since then TJC has opened the opportunity to provide feedback on these proposed standard changes. The window to submit your feedback will close on February 22, 2021. To provide feedback, …
On January 20, 2021 CMS issued QSO 20-13 announcing new limitations to the conduct of allegation, accreditation and certification surveys. Accrediting Organizations are being advised to suspend their accreditation certification activities for the next 30 days at which point CMS will reevaluate and could extend the suspension for an additional 30-day period. Click here to …
Time Sensitive New Survey Guidance from CMS- Survey Suspensions Read More »
