In the News This Month
Greetings Everyone,
It’s hard to believe it is already August! Cooler weather is only about 75 days away! We hope you are all doing well and enjoying the summer with family and friends.
Accrediting and Regulatory Agencies are back in full force and there continues to be a heavy focus on reducing and eliminating the risk of hospital-acquired infections. Our feature article this month, “How to Break the Chain of Infection” by Pat Cook, outlines five areas that can have a substantial impact on the overall cleanliness of your organization.
Continuing with our From the Field series, this month Denise Smith writes about “Care Plans and Patient Education - The Roadmap to Caring for Your Patients”. This article speaks to many of the situations we and surveyors are encountering in the field and gives suggested solutions you may wish to try.
We hope you find these articles informative and helpful in assisting you with your ongoing regulatory readiness. Please reach out to us at info@courtemanche-assocs.com for additional information or any service needs you may have.
How to Break the Chain of Infection
About the Authors
Patricia Cook, B.S., R.Ph, HACP, GRCP
Pat Cook is a Senior Consultant and Head of Consulting Services at Courtemanche & Associates. Working in collaboration with the C&A Leaders, Pat manages Courtemanche & Associate’s business development initiatives and oversees the clinical delivery of services and support. With her extensive healthcare experience, Pat serves as a knowledgeable resource to new and existing clients, helping to guide them through their accreditation and regulatory needs.
Nurse’s Guide to Care Plans and Patient Education
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.
C_APPS 2022
Fresh from the Field
Our C_APPS membership provides monthly offerings January through November including regulatory & accreditation tools, resources, tracers, policy checklists, and other key aids to facilitate ongoing success with changing expectations.
Medication Management
July Focus
Medication Management
This month's package includes:
- Medication Management Sample Tracer
- Medication Error Sample Tracer
- ISMP 2022-2023 Targeted Medication Safety Best Practices for Hospitals
C_Apps Resources & Tools
C_APPS is an Exclusive Membership Service resource developed by Courtemanche & Associates that provides monthly offerings of regulatory and accreditation tools, resources, tracers, policy checklists or other key aids to facilitate ongoing success with changing expectations.
Disclaimer: The information on this website is published in good faith for general information purposes only. This website does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information.
The Joint Commission® is a registered trademark of Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Courtemanche & Associates has no affiliation with this entity.