CMS revises COVID-19 vaccination memos to combine survey instructions as infection rates decline

CMS has combined three earlier Quality, Safety & Oversight Group (QSO) memos on required COVID-19 vaccinations into a single memo, with revisions to note how surveyors should cite noncompliance.

The World Health Organization has defined long COVID as a syndrome that occurs three months after a COVID-19 infection, with symptoms that last for at least two months. Long COVID symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, anxiety, depression, cardiac issues, and fatigue.

Many healthcare executives say workforce shortages are their top challenge as the country emerges from the crisis phase of the coronavirus pandemic. Health systems, hospitals, and physician practices nationwide are struggling with workforce shortages in clinical and nonclinical roles.

I think we all know that rounding as it might have once been required in the past (from a regulatory perspective) is a way to monitor conditions in the environment. Is it a good way? Is it the only way?

Whether your healthcare facility is in Las Vegas or Bangor, Maine, extreme weather will always be on the table. For instance, winter ice, snow, and freezing temperatures put healthcare facilities and their occupants in danger. And it always puts Life Safety Code® (LSC) compliance to the test.

For me, corn is nothing new. I like it, but I don’t get excited about it, and when it is on my plate I don’t pay it much attention. The laboratory can be like that for staff members who work there every day. It’s nothing new, it’s just where they work, and they stop paying attention to it.

Volcanic eruptions and La Niña expected to make for an interesting winter season

The Joint Commission (TJC) will be focusing on healthcare equity as a patient safety priority when new Leadership requirements come into effect in January.

Take time to consult with your organization’s staff before reverting to pre-pandemic practices and procedures. Some things might not need to change. Some things might need to change quickly. And some might need to change as slowly as possible.