Effective July 1, 2025, a fully revised Emergency Management (EM) chapter, including new and revised EM standards, will apply to all Joint Commission-accredited assisted living communities and behavioral health care and human services organizations. The Joint Commission thoroughly analyzed and rewrote the EM chapter, which resulted in the following:
- Reorganized requirements
- Renumbered standards
- Reduced elements of performance (EPs) by more than 28% for assisted living communities and 31% for behavioral health care and human services organizations
The goal of the rewrite was to help healthcare organizations to develop more comprehensive EM programs and to better prepare for the health, safety, and security needs of their facilities, staff, patients, residents, and individuals served during emergencies or disasters (such as the COVID-19 pandemic). The new and revised EM requirements clarify and emphasize the following:
- Assessment, applicability, and incorporation of the hazard vulnerability analysis throughout the EM chapter
- Leadership involvement and oversight in all aspects of the EM program
- Staff education and training, with specific guidance for initial and ongoing EM training
The project’s program-specific R³ Report provides rationales for the requirements as well as references to the research articles and reports used to develop them. In addition to an extensive literature review, the new and revised requirements were developed based on feedback resulting from the pandemic, public field review, and expert guidance from the standards review panel and an internal Joint Commission EM workgroup.
A recent Forbes article, “The Changing Climate Is A Health Crisis: A Call To Action For Human Well-Being,” contributor, policymaker and physician Bill Frist, MD, details how climate disasters are affecting humans – and health and well-being.
In the article, Frist states: “As a physician and policymaker, I believe we need to urgently recognize climate change for what it truly is – a public health crisis – and act accordingly. The health effects of climate change are immediate, widespread, and deeply inequitable. But solutions exist, and now is the time to come together to align our understanding of the health challenges and actively execute on those solutions before the problem grows beyond our reach.”