-Top-
Executive Director
No man is an island. Neither is any woman or accrediting body. As I look back at 2007, I am struck by how many individuals have contributed to furthering the mission of The Joint Commission. It is a bittersweet acknowledgement, however, because many of these individuals are moving on to offer their time, talent and energy elsewhere.
Thanks to Frances L. Bäby, the first “sit-with” member of the Board of Commissioners. She has tirelessly voiced the home care industry’s perspective around the Board table since July 2002. We will miss you, Fran.
Thank you to the Home Care Professional and Technical Advisory Committee members who left at the end of December:
- Steven L. Vinci, B.S., R.R.T., chair
- Raymond J. Martin, R.Ph., F.A.S.C.P., vice chair
- Margaret N. Carr, P.T., M.B.A.
- Hal Freehling, Jr., M.A., R.R.T.
- Douglas R. Lang, R.Ph.
- Dorothy L. Pitner Healy, R.N., B.S.N., M.B.A., past chair
- Robert S. Parker
- Mary Raymer, M.S.W., A.C.S.W.
- Mary F. Rossi-Coajou
A warm welcome to Peter Boling, M.D., and Len Parisi, R.N., M.A., the new chair and vice chair of the Home Care PTAC. There is more work to do!
Debra Zak, Ph.D., R.N
-Top-
The Infection Prevention and Control, Management of Information and Improving Organization Performance chapters have completed the Standards Improvement Initiative process and were approved by the Standards and Survey Procedures Committee at its August and October meetings. Here is a summary of the key actions after extensive field engagement of the Infection Prevention and Control chapter for home care organizations, and a clarification of the main issues. Summaries of the findings of the other chapters will be published in upcoming issues of Home Care Bulletin.
Applicability
Based on feedback from our customers, applicability has been expanded to the specific type of service being provided. For example, pharmacy will now be separated into dispensing, clinical consulting, long term care and mail-order. Specific applicability requirements will vary based on an organization’s business practices and scope of care. For example, a dispensing pharmacy that does not accept returned tubing or sharps would not be required to comply with disposal of infected waste standards, even though these elements of performance are listed as “applicable” for this category.
Scope of responsibility
Questions were raised about a home care organization’s scope of responsibility, especially regarding what the patient does in the absence of the home care provider. Providers are responsible for implementing actions to prevent infection. If the patient or family will be responsible for a procedure in the absence of the provider, the provider must educate them on how to do the procedure without spreading infection. When staff perform the procedure, they are expected to use procedures that prevent and control infections.
Written plans
The field was unclear about what the standards require with respect to a written Infection Control plan. SII emphasizes planning activities rather than a formal written document. Organizations should identify specific risks based on its environment, services and staff. These risks vary depending on the organization. For example, the number and complexity of risks identified by a hospice providing inpatient and in-home services would be different than those of a mail order supplier. Organizations need to document the outcome of their planning activities—identifying prioritized risks and the actions they take to lessen those risks.
Home Care Infection Control Task Force
Feedback from the field indicates that misperceptions exist within the home care industry about what is relevant to home care. Literature about infection control in home care is limited; however, some home care organizations provide similar services to those provided in complex health care facilities for which literature exists. A special task force of home care infection control experts was convened to assist the SII team on a number of issues, including the perceived relevance and usefulness of surveillance and outbreak investigation for home care organizations. As a result of field input, research and task force discussions, it was determined that outcome-based surveillance is relevant to wounds, tubes and lines while process-based surveillance is relevant in all settings. As a result, organizations will be required to conduct outcome-based surveillance if they provide wound care and insert or maintain tubes or lines. A surveillance indicator might be, for example, the number of blood stream infections for PICC lines. For organizations that do not provide wound care and insert or maintain tubes or lines, process-based surveillance is relevant. A process-based surveillance indicator might be the percentage of patients receiving education about changing filters and water in the C-PAP machine.
SII is part of a continuous effort to eliminate non-essential standards and to ensure that the remaining standards are understandable and relevant to the care setting to which they apply. For more information, visit the Standards Improvement Initiative on our website. Questions and suggestions can be sent to standardsimprovement@jointcommission.org.
-Top-
Home care executive Kristy Wright, R.N., F.A.A.N, has been appointed to a special seat on The Joint Commission’s Board of Commissioners as a home care representative. Her initial two-year term began January 1. Wright is president and CEO of VNA Services and Foundation of Western Pennsylvania where she leads three corporations that provide home health care, hospice, personal care, private duty care and durable medical equipment services.
A home care representative has served on the Board of Commissioners since 2002 as part of a larger effort to build and strengthen relationships between the home care field and the Joint Commission Board. Wright succeeds Frances Bäby, the first individual to occupy this seat. Bäby’s third term concluded at the end of 2007.
-Top-
Liability insurers are always looking at new ways of evaluating risk reduction. That’s why The Joint Commission is working with insurance carriers to raise the visibility of Joint Commission-accredited home care organizations.
“We are identifying carriers that offer a financial benefit to Joint Commission-accredited home care organizations and posting that information on our website,” says Debra Zak, executive director, Home Care Accreditation Program. For more information, visit the Liability Insurers section of our website. Currently, there are four liability insurers listed that offer financial benefits for accredited home care organizations: AIG, Darwin National Assurance Company, General Star Indemnity Company and United National Insurance Group.
Send an e-mail with the name of your liability insurance carrier to Katie Goryl, associate director, Payer Relations, at kgoryl@jointcommission.org, and she will gladly contact them to determine whether they meet the criteria for being listed on The Joint Commission website.
-Top-
The Joint Commission’s Wiki-HealthCareTM application is a free, Internet-based forum that can be accessed through a link on The Joint Commission’s home page, or directly at wikihealthcare.jointcommission.org. All users participate as individuals, not as representatives of their organization. Participation has NO impact on an organization's accreditation status.
-Top-
The Joint Commission’s Quality Check® website now includes organizations that are not accredited by The Joint Commission as well as Joint Commission accredited organizations. Joint Commission accredited organizations are easily identified by The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™. Quality Reports are only available for Joint Commission accredited organizations. For more information, visit www.qualitycheck.org.
-Top-
Home Care: Accreditation Essentials
April 14-15, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
To register, call JCR Customer Service at (877) 223-6866.
-Top-
The Joint Commission’s home care team will exhibit at the following conferences.
- Home Health 100, February 10-12, Scottsdale, Ariz.
- Medtrade, May 7-8, Long Beach, Calif.
-Top-
-Top-
To receive the latest news and information about the Home Care Accreditation Program, or to sign up to receive Home Care Bulletin, a free quarterly newsletter, by e-mail. Subscribe today.
-Top-