In the News This Month
Greetings everyone,
Welcome Spring!
With patient safety week just wrapping up the healthcare industry is reminded that quality of care and patient safety should be of the utmost priority for any healthcare worker and facility. Regulatory agencies continue to enforce standards to ensure that potential risks are minimized to provide a safe work environment as well as positive patient outcomes.
Our feature article, “Count Sheets – Where Do They Belong?”, by Denise Smith, Senior Consultant examines some of the risks created by this surgical process and emphasizes the need for healthcare staff to understand and attempt to mitigate these risks.
Another area of focus is the physical environment which can present a clear risk to positive patient outcomes if not considered as an influencer on patient safety. Chris Pratt, Senior Consultant & Accredited Provider Program Director’s article , “The Environment of Care and Positive Patient Care Outcomes” speaks to the importance of healthcare leaders and staff being educated on how the physical environment impacts patient safety and tips for maintaining a safe environment to ensure staff and patients are protected.
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.
Count Sheets – Where Do They Belong?
About the Authors
Denise Smith, RN, MSN, CLNC, HACP
Denise Smith is a Senior Consultant with Courtemanche & Associates. In this role she is responsible for assessing healthcare organizational readiness for licensing, certification, accreditation, and regulatory compliance. She has extensive knowledge in the requirements of The Joint Commission, DNV, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services including knowledge in their survey process, auditing approach and survey outcome determination. She also has knowledge and experience in AAAHC and other regulatory and accreditation organizations. She assists organizations with survey preparation, educational needs, post survey activities, patient safety strategies and quality improvement initiatives. Denise has more than 40 years of experience and expertise in Infection Prevention, Sterile Processing, Legal Nurse Consulting, Quality and Resource Management, Clinical Education, in acute inpatient and outpatient care settings.
Clinically, Denise is a licensed Registered Nurse with an extensive background in Infection Prevention and Control for perioperative settings, sterile processing, and quality management. Additionally, she has served as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant and has aided organizations for EMTALA, Medical-Surgical and Health Care Administration areas of concern.
The Environment of Care and Positive Patient Care Outcomes
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.
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