Tip of the week: Smaller hospitals should gear up for emergency management scrutiny

With all the talk about The Joint Commission’s life safety specialists now visiting all hospitals regardless of bed count, an interesting side note to this change is the emergency management section of the survey.

Previously, when life safety specialists only visited hospitals with 200 or more beds, those facilities also underwent an emergency management interview because the regular survey team had more time with the life safety duties assigned elsewhere.

As of January 1, 2008, life safety specialists are visiting all hospitals, so in turn all hospitals can now expect an emergency management interview, too, according to a Joint Commission spokesperson.

During this session, surveyors will review emergency operations plans and the results of hazard vulnerability analyses. They may also conduct a tabletop disaster drill.