Environment of Care Compliance Manual, Fourth Edition (Book)

The Joint Commission’s 2009 overhaul of the environment of care (EC) standards requires safety officers and facility directors to reexamine their plan of attack to ensure that their facilities support a safe, functional, and supportive environment.

You’ll be contending with completely renumbered standards, expanded elements of performance, and new life safety and emergency management chapters. It’s crucial for you to understand the elements of the revised EC and determine how to comply.

Environment of Care Compliance Manual: A Guide to The Joint Commission Standards, Fourth Edition, is your roadmap to the updated 2009 EC standards.

This valuable resource not only updates the standards, it also offers tips and advice to stay compliant with new and expanded Joint Commission requirements. Author Thomas J. Huser, MS, CHPS-who has more than 20 years experience as an in-the-trenches hospital safety professional-pulls apart the revised EC standards and breaks down what is really new and what has simply been recast.

Turn to the Environment of Care Compliance Manual for help with topics like:

• Strategies of the EC
• Safety and security
• Hazardous materials and waste
• Fire prevention
• Medical equipment
• Utilities management
• Appropriate environment
• Crafting your management plans

You also receive need-driven policies and procedures that will help your staff comply with standards affecting all areas of the EC. The Environment of Care Compliance Manual, Fourth Edition is packaged in a portable 8 x 11 binder so you can simply snap it open to add your own documents and policies. It’s never been easier to customize a resource to fit the needs of your facility.

This manual offers:

• Tools to align your program with the revised EC standards
• Strategies to avoid Joint Commission survey hot spots
• An up-to-date, blow-by-blow look at the standards and EPs
• Evaluation procedures to validate your processes
• Tips specifically designed to help safety professionals achieve and maintain compliance
• Helpful advice to build a successful program from the ground up

The accompanying CD-ROM contains electronic versions of all the forms and tools, making it easy for you to download and customize them to meet your hospital’s unique needs.

About the author:

Thomas J. Huser, MS, CHSP, is a safety coordinator for a healthcare system in Indianapolis, IN. He's a health and safety professional with more than 23 years of health care and public safety experience. Huser’s specific responsibilities include hazardous materials and emergency preparedness. Huser has published over 13 articles in the Journal of Healthcare Security on topics including: disaster drill planning, emergency decontamination, the Incident Command System, and the Hazard Communication Program. He has authored four editions of HCPro’s "The Environment of Care Manual" and has presented at Ascension Health Safety Conference in 2000, 2001 and 2002, NFPA World Safety Safety Conference in 2003, and has been a presenter for HCPro as well as the National Earthquake Conference in 2004.

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