Advocacy Update: Scoring of the 2008 Emergency Management Standards
The Joint Commission Accreditation Committee at its April 17, 2008 meeting approved a plan to not count non-compliance with the new emergency management standards in accreditation decisions during 2008. ASHE commends The Joint Commission for their responsiveness to use this grace period as time to assess capacities, usage of supplies and resources, and to build local relationships within the community. According to Gail Weinberger, Director, Accreditation & Certification Policy & Administration at The Joint Commission, "non-compliance with these requirements will continue to be cited in an organization’s report and will be required to be addressed in an Evidence of Standards Compliance (ESC). However, they will not be included in the count of the Requirements for Improvement contributing towards a Conditional Accreditation or a Preliminary Denial of Accreditation decision." Following are the specific EPs that this applies to:
EC.4.11, EP.9 & 10
EC.4.12, EP.6
EC.4.13, EP 7
EC.4.14, EP.8 & 10
EC.4.15, EP.2, 3 & 5
EC.4.16, EP.2 & 3
EC.4.17, EP.4
EC.4.18, EP.4, 5 & 6
ASHE, along with many individuals and organizations wrote letters and provided information to The Joint Commission identifying areas where full compliance with the 2008 Emergency Management Standards is proving to be difficult if not impossible to achieve. Gail also mentioned "letters were included in the materials presented to the Accreditation Committee, and contributed to the Committees decision."
ASHE encourages organizations to use this opportunity to continue to assess and develop their Emergency Management program, and build the relationships with community resources to assist with meeting the healthcare organizations mission when responding to an emergency or unusual event.