Does Joint Commission have any credibility left in 2022?

[KalipsoRed21]

I love to get on Youtube and watch nurse stuff. Nurse Blake is one of my favorites. He somehow manages to be funny without being cynical (I am a total cynicist myself). 
But this video points out the real failure JACHO has been in the last two years. It also makes me wonder if JACHO is more like hospitals paying for accreditation than actually attaining something. Kinda like how food manufacturers pay for the American Heart Association logo for their food products to try to sell them more, but it really isn’t the healthiest thing to eat…

Anyway here is a link to the video of Nurse Blake JACHO vs Water Bottles. At the very least you will have a good laugh! And just for fun I also sent an email to The Joint Commission letting them know how much they let us down with a link to this video as well. I hope they enjoyed it. Feel free to do so as well.?

 

[sleepwalker, MSN, NP]

On 1/11/2022 at 10:20 AM, chare said:

OSHA regulations don't specifically prohibit eating/drinking at the nurses station; rather they the prohibit "consumption of food and drink in areas where work involving exposure or potential exposure to blood or other potentially infectious or toxic material exists."  These regulations further requires health care organization to "evaluate the workplace to determine locations where potential contamination may occur and prohibit employees from eating or drinking in those areas."  Rather than do this, most organizations outright ban eating/drinking at the nurses station.

Staff Food and Drink in Patient Care Areas

Exactly! Was going to post the exact same thing. Thanks for saving me the effort!

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

On 1/10/2022 at 8:43 PM, JKL33 said:

Had an admin ask us how we would feel if we went into ________ [local business, e.g. bank, insurance agency, motor vehicle dept] and the person waiting on us was "sucking on a water bottle."

My thought was: I would think their boss is smarter than...um...other people's bosses.

I believe that they just didn't want us to have our water with us all along. So they made up official-sounding reasons why we couldn't have it. It's an issue that was never even an issue. Simple: Don't have your drink where you're handling lab samples and potential infectious material.

If someone asked me that, I literally don't think I would be able to stop myself from looking at them quizzically and saying "I wouldn't give a flying ****"  What a ridiculous and illogical notion, to liken meeting one's bodily needs with unprofessionalism.

[sleepwalker, MSN, NP]

On 1/10/2022 at 9:39 PM, JKL33 said:

This is true. However, OSHA didn't state that a nurse's work station was a patient care area--as far as I can tell that was purely on admin (who blamed other various organizations PRN), sometimes for their own reasons (control, misery) and sometimes because...non-thinkers (not all, but enough of them).

I do blame jake-o for significantly contributing to the problem of opioid abuse, though they now claim they never had anything to do with it and were always on the right side of things. Also consider them 100% not legit since they don't have, and haven't had, anything helpful to say about staffing ratios, which...not really sure you can pretend you're about safety while ignoring that.

"In 2001, the Joint Commission rolled out its Pain Management Standards, which helped grow the idea of pain as a "fifth vital sign." It required healthcare providers to ask every patient about their pain, given the perception at the time was that pain was undertreated...."

of course they contributed...they were a major influencer

[Tegridy]

2021 where it takes comedy for people to realize what’s been truth for a while. 
many one with half of a brain knows half of the clip board policies are either pointless or not backed by data. 

[iNurs5, CNA]

The new hospital I've been to, the breakroom and restroom were around the triage. It was the same layout with other units. I thought that it was a fantastic idea. Also, their device for clocking in/out was in the unit, too. Where I used to work, people didn't have enough time during their personal time.  I didn't see nurses and other staff eating or drinking in their unit at this new found place. They can easily access their drink. 

[Davey Do]

Honeybee's post triggered a memory of a situation involving not only JC, but hospital administration, OSHA, and IDPH as well.

Some years ago, the geriatric psych unit at Wrongway underwent some renovations. Although there were multiple gross infractions of staff and patient safety present, none of these entities did anything to remedy them.

Following the chain of command, I first reported, in writing with included photos, to administration, and then to the other surveying/accrediting agencies. Although I cited specific guidelines and infractions, no actions were taken.

There were safety infractions such as: power equipment and other tools being left unattended in patient areas. Sharp steel edges with protruding screws in patient care areas, as well as live electrical wires hanging out of the wall. There was no direct access to running water in the med or treatment room. Patients with suicidal ideation had direct access to plastic tape used to section off areas. There may have been more, but that's all I currently recall.

I lost all respect for all of these entities due to their inactions, and cavalier attitude, to boot.

It is all for show.

[Guest 1152923]

34 minutes ago, Davey Do said:

It is all for show.

     Sadly, yes it is.  This is especially true of the Joint Commission.  Their BS mission statement; "The mission of The Joint Commission is to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in....." blah, blah, blah.  If improving health care and patient advocacy were really the purpose of their being, why not then address critical safety concerns in health care today; dangerous understaffing, N/P ratios, ineffective and insufficient equipment & supplies, health care providers' safety....??  Why not you ask?  Because Joint Commission doesn't want to upset influential and powerful entities (hospital and LTC conglomerates). These are the issues that really need attention, not the low hanging fruit-I.e. refrigerator temperatures, restraint documentation, food/drinks in patient care areas.   JCAHO=J D Powers award-an award bought and paid for and means nothing!

   

[iNurs5, CNA]

44 minutes ago, Davey Do said:

Honeybee's post triggered a memory of a situation involving not only JC, but hospital administration, OSHA, and IDPH as well.

Some years ago, the geriatric psych unit at Wrongway underwent some renovations. Although there were multiple gross infractions of staff and patient safety present, none of these entities did anything to remedy them.

Following the chain of command, I first reported, in writing with included photos, to administration, and then to the other surveying/accrediting agencies. Although I cited specific guidelines and infractions, no actions were taken.

There were safety infractions such as: power equipment and other tools being left unattended in patient areas. Sharp steel edges with protruding screws in patient care areas, as well as live electrical wires hanging out of the wall. There was no direct access to running water in the med or treatment room. Patients with suicidal ideation had direct access to plastic tape used to section off areas. There may have been more, but that's all I currently recall.

I lost all respect for all of these entities due to their inactions, and cavalier attitude, to boot.

It is all for show.

I'm sure that you have contributed to this new building. It's a few years old. I hope that they'll continue to change a little bit. They can take one room for their staff. 

I didn't see this enough where I was. They watched the patients closely. I noticed the patients had finger foods. 

It makes life easier for us new generation. I can't imagine going through your era. 

[Davey Do]

10 minutes ago, morelostthanfound said:

If improving health care and patient advocacy were really the purpose of their being, why not then address critical safety concerns in health care today   

Because addressing critical safety concerns would open up a whole can of worms and dealing with those real worm issues is too much work, like shoveling sand against the tide.

If focus is made on undotted I's and uncrossed t's, then we can distract ourselves and administrators on issues with which we can deal.

An attorney who said, euphemistically speaking, "I have a huge drive to bring lawsuits against Wrongway", told me that the facility is a necessary evil. "The other area institutions don't want to have to deal with the population that Wrongway serves", he said.

The governmental agencies are supportive of the other area facilities; therefore, they support Wrongway's continued existence.

They're all busy scratching each other's back, all the while ignoring those in the trenches.

 

[Davey Do]

20 minutes ago, Honyebee said:

It makes life easier for us new generation. I can't imagine going through your era. 

Honeybee, it's always been as Charles Dickens so aptly put it, "...the best of times... the worst of times".

From what I've heard from nursing students and my actively employed medical nurse wife Belinda, I need to give your quote back to you:

"I can't imagine going through your era."

Hopefully, we are all the right people born in the right time.

However, thank you for your empathy.

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

On 1/10/2022 at 8:20 AM, MelEpiRN said:

Eating/ drinking in patient care areas is an OSHA regulation. Gotta take it up with them. TJC enforces OSHA.  

Actually the Joint Commission does not have the power to enact or enforce any regulation made by OSHA or otherwise. The Joint commission came into being because healthcare institutions did not want government oversight into their practices. As such the Joint Commission can only make recommendations.   

[Tegridy]

The more legit safety concerns are usually promoted by insurance companies. If something is wrong and something happens they have to pay out. Unfortunately insurance companies (not medical insurance but hospitals general insurance policy) are more legit than Joint smoking commission