Time to ring some changes—Safety Space 360
The more I look at the announced changes to Joint Commission’s accreditation product(s), the more it seems to me that the end result is more a reshuffling of the same deck of cards we’ve been playing with since the dawn of the life safety surveyor as part of the accreditation survey team. Interestingly enough (or perhaps only to me), every time our friends in Chicago have reconfigured things, I made the promise to myself that I was not going to commit the standard and performance element numbers to memory. I am once again going to make that promise, but I’m going to be a little more proactive in making sure that that actually happens (more on that plan in a moment).
There are a couple of sayings relating to the general concepts of management:
“You can’t lead someone to a place you’ve never been before.”
“Have the courage to act.”
There’s a few more that we’ll get to before the end of this epistle (and, in describing it thusly, I’m including everything that has appeared in this space since 2007), but it is with mixed emotions that I announce that I will be retiring from fulltime work as a consultant (and, by extension, blogger) at the end of this year. There are a variety of reasons for this decision, not the least being the desire to enjoy one’s retirement while one is still able to do so. I am hopeful that I have left behind a body of work that, while very specific in some regards, can be instructive as the management of the healthcare physical environment continues on apace. I have lobbied intermittently to scare up someone to make use of this bully pulpit and, so far, there have been no takers. If anyone reading this has the desire to fill these 9.5 (W) shoes, the good folks at HCPro will be more than happy to give you a shot. And I will continue to post here until that last week in December, so I’m not going anywhere just yet.
Lately, I have heard hope (and hopefulness) described as a “subversive act of courage” or “a brave and rebellious act,” and I definitely see the beauty in those descriptions, so my hope in these closing months is to continue to provide you reason to commit subversive, brave, or rebellious acts of hope. For without hope…
About the Author: Steve MacArthur is a safety consultant with The Chartis Group. He brings more than 30 years of healthcare management and consulting experience to his work with hospitals, physician offices, and ambulatory care facilities across the country. He is the author of HCPro's Hospital Safety Director's Handbook and is an advisory board member for Accreditation and Quality Compliance Center. Contact Steve at stevemacsafetyspace@gmail.com.