October 2021 Newsletter

In the News This Month

Does your organization have all the components for a successful performance improvement strategy? Are you surrounded with copious volumes of data and unclear what to do with most of it? Data Management and meeting QAPI and Performance Improvement requirements can be extremely challenging for organizations. Our feature this month, "Data Rich, Information Poor" summarizes The Joint Commission's revisions to the Performance Improvement Chapter which take effect in all accreditation programs January 1, 2022.

Another area we often see opportunity for training is with the management of breast milk. So often when we are conducting mock surveys at our client organizations, we encounter issues with this. Our second article, "From Breast to Bottle, Let's Keep Our Breast Milk Safe" provides tips related to storing, thawing, feeding, and cleaning processes when managing breast milk.

With a clear understanding of the basic requirements, as well as strategies available to assess and improve, it is easier to engage personnel in the performance measures that may be required for their areas within the organization. The C&A Team is prepared to assist with your Quality-Performance Improvement Initiative. Click here to find help.

Data Rich . . . Information Poor

Sep 30 2021

Data Rich . . . Information Poor
Not only have we all heard this saying, "Data Rich and Information Poor", but so many organizations experience this. Throughout our travels across the country, we encounter organizations that struggle with the management of their data. We believe that CMS and the accrediting agency, The Joint Commission, may also be seeing the same thing. The Joint Commission just recently concluded research into the design of successful performance improvement strategies and found two common themes in organizations with successful improvement programs: 1- These organizations adopted an established improvement methodology and the methodologies associated tools and used the methodology and tools consistently ...
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About the Author

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.

Pat Cook

From Breast to Bottle - Let's Keep That Breast Milk Safe!

Oct 1 2021

From Breast to Bottle – Let’s Keep That Breast Milk Safe
Introduction Breastfeeding, also called nursing, is the process of feeding human breast milk to a child, either directly from the breast or by expressing the milk from the breast and bottle-feeding it to the infant. The World Health Organization recommends that breastfeeding begin within the first hour of a baby's life and continue as often and as much as the baby wants. During the first few weeks of life babies may nurse roughly every two to three hours, and the duration of a feeding is usually ten to fifteen minutes on each breast. Older children feed less often. Mothers may ...
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About the Author

Denise Smith, RN, BS, MS, CLNC, HACP-CMS

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.

C_APPS 2021

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.

Patient Visitation

Oct 6 2021

Patient Visitation
Related to the spread of Covid both CMS and The Joint Commission permit organizations to modify their visitation practices to safeguard patients, staff, and visitors. Earlier this year, Planetree International released the “Family Presence Policy Decision Making Toolkit 2021”, which focuses specifically on decision making during Covid. Expanding on that concept, we are providing a sample Patient Visitation Policy and a decision grid which expands the risk assessment process for determining feasibility of visitation along broader conditions that may influence your organization’s decision to expand or reduce visitation.
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October Focus

Patient Visitation

This month's package includes:

  • Sample Patient Visitation Policy
  • Sample Decision Grid

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.

Courtemanche & Associates | (704)-573-4535 | Email: info@courtemanche-assocs.com

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