Courtemanche & Associates | (704)-573-4535 | Email: info@courtemanche-assocs.com
September 2022 Newsletter
In the News This Month
Greetings Everyone,
Maintaining survey readiness and patient safety are priorities in healthcare. To assist staff our observations from the field series continues to focus on the types of observations and findings we are seeing and hearing about from the field in the many different facets of an organization.
Emergency Departments are a major access point to an organization’s healthcare services and an area of focus where patient safety and regulatory readiness are of utmost importance. Despite efforts of healthcare organizations to improve on their processes, we still observe opportunities that may lead to patient harm. Our feature article, “Emergency Department – Observations from the Field” by Chris Pratt, highlights examples from the field that may help you identify opportunities in your emergency services.
Another area of focus for patient safety is with Anesthesia services. The Anesthesia team is an integral part of your perioperative staff and engaging them in your assessments and actual surveys is essential for successful surveys, and most importantly for safe patient care. Kim Merritt’s article “Anesthesia – Tips for Survey Readiness” provides tips health organizations can use for continuous survey readiness and safe patient care practices in anesthesia services.
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.
- By Christopher Pratt, MS, BSN, HACP-CMS, Senior Consultant & Accredited Provider Program Director
8 examples of emergency department observations from the field that may help you identify opportunities to improve on your emergency
The Author
Chris Pratt is Senior Consultant & Accredited Provider Program Director 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.
- By Kimberly Merritt
The survey starts before the visit. Learn more about our tips health organizations can use for continuous survey readiness in
The Author
Kimberly B. Merritt, MHA, BSN, CNOR, GRCP, HACP
Kimberly Merritt is an Associate Consultant. In this role, she is responsible for assessing healthcare organizations’ readiness for licensing, accreditation, and regulatory compliance. She assists organizations with post-survey activities education and follow-up, patient safety strategies, and quality improvement initiatives. Kimberly has more than 30 years of experience working in varying healthcare positions, most notably serving as a member of the Nurse Corps in the U.S. Air Force since 1994. Clinically, Kimberly is a licensed registered nurse with extensive experience ranging from home health to perioperative services, as well as leadership expertise in managing many aspects of healthcare operations. She is trained in the application, teaching, and facilitation of the requirements and recommendations of The Joint Commission, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other regulatory and accrediting agencies.
C&A is a division of SAYAS Alliance. Through our sister company Medical Resources Network, we also offer a range of legal nurse consulting services, including medical record review and analysis, medical chronologies, peer review, retention of medical experts, and adverse event and call center management. Learn more.
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.