One of the most stressful things about a healthcare survey is that you don’t always know what surveyors will uncover. Is there a Condition of Participation that you’ve been noncompliant on for years? What if an emergency situation happens while the surveyors are in the building? How...
Achieving health equity requires active participation by healthcare leaders, and a major step forward is appointing a health equity officer (HEO) to keep your organization on track. This person is responsible for stewarding the crucial work of improving equity and health equity to ensure every...
The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Combined Heat and Power program is an energy solution for hospitals, providing efficient and continuous power that safeguards critical life support systems during grid outages. With the increasing frequency of severe weather events in the U.S...
Anyone who’s followed this Space for any length of time knows I am rather fond of the twists and turns of language, but only when those twists and turns reflect a fair degree of precision. Those twists and turns come to a screeching halt in the face of words that are treated as synonyms, and the...
There are differences in what healthcare providers want and need out of their leaders, says Rachelle Babin, MBA, BSN, RN, CEC, CMMT, certified executive coach and consultant at Rachelle Babin Leadership. What’s important in leadership depends on the practice setting, discipline, role type, and...
This is rather more of an aspirational post (i.e., a rant) this week as the evidence from the field shows no sign that the unsettling depths of physical environment findings are likely to decrease any time soon. At risk of sounding like an elderly neighbor telling the kids to stay off their lawn...
As we approach Thanksgiving and the winter holidays, the desire to bring cheer and decorate the healthcare environment is natural. However, a bit like Scrooge and the Grinch, infections and fire hazards don’t recognize holidays. Nor do The Joint Commission (TJC) and CMS let healthcare staff...
Stress is a natural response that everyone deals with, but being able to manage it during a laboratory emergency can make all the difference in how things turn out. It’s not wrong to feel stress under pressure, and there are ways to cope with your stress response before, during, and after a...
On January 1, 2025, the new workplace violence (WPV) prevention standards for home health agencies will go into effect for facilities accredited by The Joint Commission. Some of the requirements that will go into effect include creating a formal definition of WPV, outlining leadership oversight...
Bad leaders are roadblocks to patient care, but good leaders help it thrive. Effective leadership will be a vital part of patient safety and running a successful healthcare organization as we approach 2025 and continue to navigate rising levels of violence, artificial intelligence, nursing...