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		<title>JCR News</title>
		<link>http://www.jcrinc.com</link>
		<description>News releases</description>
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					<title>The Joint Commission and JCR Present the 2012 Emergency Preparedness Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2012/1/30/The-Joint-Commission-and-JCR-Present-the-2012-Emergency-Preparedness-Conference/</link> 
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						Apply the Lessons Learned from the 2011 Natural Disasters
				
		
		
				
						(Oak Brook, Ill.—January 30, 2012) On May 22, 2011, St. John’s Regional Medical Center was devastated by an EF5 tornado when it tore through Joplin, Missouri. Despite the odds, the hospital continued to provide care and save patients’ lives because its staff had successfully tested and implemented effective emergency preparedness and disaster management plans. This spring, Dennis Manley, the director of quality and risk management at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri, will be a featured presenter at The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources’ (JCR) eighth annual emergency preparedness conference, *M + P + R2 = Resilience (*Mitigation + Preparedness + Response and Recovery) April 11-12, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott hotel in Arlington, Va. Mr. Manley will discuss the impact of the damage on the hospital caused by the tornado, how it was managed, and what lessons were learned in the process. The 2012 Emergency Preparedness Conference will supply attendees with a portfolio of emergency management strategies using real life lessons taken from specific events, like the Joplin, Missouri tornado, and effective tools that can be implemented upon return to their organizations. Plenary sessions will also include presentations from George Mills, director of engineering at The Joint Commission, on the on-site follow up and post-event strategies that were used during disasters like the tornado that hit St. John’s Regional Medical Center and Hurricane Katrina, and from Tommie Murray, chief quality officer at Vermont State Hospital, who will discuss what happened when Vermont State Hospital had to manage an evacuation without emergency crew assistance due to severe flooding from Hurricane Irene. The focus of the 2012 conference is to examine how Joint Commission accreditation standards provide health care organizations with the framework needed to prepare for and continue care in the face of an emergency. The conference will also demonstrate how the four phases of emergency management – mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery – create resilient health care organizations, capable of coping with the stress and adversity of any disaster. In addition, an emergency preparedness pre-conference will be offered April 10, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott hotel in Arlington, Va. The morning session of the pre-conference will address the foundations of The Joint Commission’s emergency management standards. The afternoon session will enhance attendees’ knowledge of emergency management through evacuation, pandemic and active shooter/hostage scenarios. The Emergency Preparedness Conference and pre-conference are recommended for health care emergency staff, safety officers, medical directors, nursing trauma coordinators, security directors, facilities managers, operations directors, emergency response planners and members of community agencies responsible for developing emergency plans. Attendees can register for the Emergency Preparedness Conference individually for $749. Attendees may also register for a discounted price of $629 per person 30 days prior to the conference with the use of the promotional code “EB.” To register for the conference, please call JCR Customer Service at (877) 223-6866 or for additional details and a conference agenda, register online at http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/2012-Annual-Emergency-Preparedness-Conference/4560/. Individuals who are interested in the Emergency Preparedness Conference should also consider attending the 2012 Environment of Care Base Camp and the Exploring the Life Safety Chapter of the Joint Commission seminars. Additional details on these seminars and all other JCR educational conferences for 2012, are available at http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/.
				
		
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					<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:29:09 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>The Joint Commission and JCR Announce 2012 Board Appointments </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2012/1/11/The-Joint-Commission-and-JCR-Announce-2012-Board-Appointments/</link> 
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				Home Care, Long Term Care and Behavioral Health Care Programs get Full Representation
		
				(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – January 11, 2012) The Joint Commission announces the incoming Board of Commissioners for 2012, and the Board’s decision to make the three field representatives for long term care, behavioral health care and home care full voting members. Previously, the field representatives voted on Board committees, but not at the full Board.The seven new members include health care executive John A. Babiarz, COO, ARAMARK Healthcare, a public member on the board; L.D. Britt, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, appointed by the American College of Surgeons; Albert J. Osbahr, III, M.D., and Stephen R. Permut, M.D., J.D., both appointed by the American Medical Association; David Pryor, M.D., appointed by the American Hospital Association; and David Henry Perrott, D.D.S., M.D., M.B.A., FACS, appointed by the American Dental Association. In addition, Joan M. Doyle, R.N., M.S.N., M.B.A., executive director, Penn Home Care and Hospice Services, University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), Philadelphia, will represent the home care field as a Commissioner.  Current behavioral health care field representative Michael F. Hogan, Ph.D., commissioner, New York State Office of Mental Health, and current long term care field representative Connie S. March, R.N., M.S.N., president and CEO, Provena Life Connections will become full voting members of the Board.“Our new Commissioners all have a deep understanding of the complexities and challenges facing health care today,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission. “Their longstanding commitment to quality and patient safety will significantly enhance The Joint Commission’s efforts to achieve its mission of improving health care for the public.”The Joint Commission also announced the re-appointment of Isabel Hoverman, M.D., MACP, as 2012 chair of the Board of Commissioners. Gerald Shea will serve again as vice chair. In addition to Hoverman and Shea, the following officer re-appointments for 2012 have been announced:• Treasurer—Rebecca Patchin, M.D.• Secretary—Craig W. Jones, FACHE• Executive Committee Member-at-Large—LaMar S. McGinnis, M.D., FACS• Executive Committee Member-at-Large—David Henry Perrott, D.D.S., M.D., M.B.A., FACSIn addition, JCR announced the re-appointment of Suet Wun Lim, M.D., as 2012 chair of its Board of Directors and LaMar S. McGinnis, M.D., F.A.C.S., as vice chair.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Dr. Lim has served as an outside international director on the JCR Board since 2004. He is currently chair on the JCR Executive Committee; he previously served as Vice Chair and Member-At-Large on the JCR Executive Committee. Lim has served on the JCR Human Resources and Compensation Committee since 2009, and he served on the JCR Accreditation Committee from 2004-2010. Lim is currently Director of Parkway Holdings Ltd. and Executive Vice President for Parkway Group Healthcare Pte Ltd. in Singapore.Dr. McGinnis has served as an American College of Surgeons (ACS) appointed Commissioner on The Joint Commission’s Board of Commissioners since 2005. Dr. McGinnis has also served as a Commissioner member on the JCR Board of Directors since 2009; he served as vice chair of the JCR Executive Committee in 2011 and as secretary in 2010. He is also currently the chair of the JCR Accreditation Committee. He is senior medical advisor and liaison at the American Cancer Society.
		
				Statements in support of Field Representatives Becoming Full Voting Board Members“I am pleased to hear that The Joint Commission Board of Commissioners has approved full voting membership and changed the title of the home care industry representative to Commissioner.  Previously, the field representative voted on Board committees, but not the full Board.  This is great news for the home care industry to have full voting rights as a Commissioner and to serve a three year term. Joan M. Doyle, R.N., M.S.N., M.B.A., executive director, Penn Home Care and Hospice Service, University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), Philadelphia, will be an excellent Commissioner representing the home care field.” Val J. Halamandaris, president, National Association for Home Care & Hospice
		
				"I applaud The Joint Commission Board’s decision to make the behavioral health care field representative a full voting member of the board. This will give a greater voice to the behavioral health care field on the accreditation and certification issues that affect the field and our clients."Linda Rosenberg, M.S.W., president and CEO, National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
		“As immediate past-chair of The Joint Commission’s Long Term Care Professional and Technical Advisory Committee, I am once again energized with the recent approval by the Board of Commissioners in granting full voting privileges to the long term care field representative. Full participation will provide a stronger voice on the Board of Commissioners from extended care facilities that strive to meet the demands of Joint Commission Accreditation Standards. This change in status once again demonstrates the comprehensive philosophy that The Joint Commission has adopted as it strives to ensure residents are provided safe and effective care of the highest quality and value.”Kathleen C. Niedert, PhD, MBA, LNHA, administrator, Parkview Manor, Inc.
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					<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:40:48 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Joint Commission Resources Awarded Funds to Improve Hospital Care and Patient Safety</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2011/12/15/Joint-Commission-Resources-Awarded-Funds-to-Improve-Hospital-Care-and-Patient-Safety/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[Click to view multi-media link http://www.pwrnewmedia.com/2011/joint_commission/improve_hospital_care/(Oak Brook, Ill. – December 15, 2011) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) is one of 26 leading health care organizations that will work with hospitals to make health care safer and less costly by targeting and reducing the millions of preventable injuries and complications from health care-associated conditions.  As a part of the Partnership for Patients initiative, a nationwide public-private collaboration to improve the quality, safety, and affordability of health care for all Americans, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that $218 million will go to 26 state, regional, national, or hospital system organizations including JCR.  As a Hospital Engagement Network, JCR will select and work with 50 hospitals across many states to implement performance improvement strategies.  JCR will collaborate and innovate with the other network awardees to achieve the Partnership for Patients objectives and to ultimately make care safer, more reliable, and less costly.  Under JCR’s leadership, several other organizations will support the education, improvement, and measurement activities of JCR’s Hospital Engagement Network project, including The Joint Commission’s Division of Healthcare Quality Evaluation, The Patient Safety Education Program housed at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, HealthCare Team Training, LLC, EnCompass LLC, and Social Interventions and Research, Inc.  “Joint Commission Resources is pleased to be chosen as a Hospital Engagement Network and would like to thank CMS for this opportunity to actively engage in the innovative Partnership for Patients initiative. Joint Commission Resources has a strong history of working with hospitals in clinical quality and patient safety improvement initiatives, and this national project will be an important continuation of that work,” says Anne L. Rooney, vice president, Global Consulting, Joint Commission Resources.The Partnership for Patients brings together leaders of major hospitals, employers, physicians, nurses, and patient advocates along with state and federal governments in a shared effort to make hospital care safer, more reliable, and less costly.  The Hospital Engagement Networks that JCR will be working with are a key part of that initiative, and will be funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center, which was established by the Affordable Care Act.  Hospital Engagement Networks will work to develop learning collaboratives for hospitals and provide a wide array of initiatives and activities to improve patient safety.  JCR will conduct intensive training programs to teach and support hospitals in making patient care safer, provide technical assistance to hospitals so that hospitals can achieve quality measurement goals, and establish and implement a system to track and monitor hospital progress in meeting quality improvement goals.  The activities of the Hospital Engagement Networks will be closely monitored by CMS to ensure that they are improving patient safety.  “At some point in our lives many of us are going to need hospital care and we need to be confident that no matter where we live, we’re going to get the best care in the world,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  “The Partnership for Patients is helping the nation’s finest health systems share their knowledge and resources to make sure every hospital knows how to provide all of its patients with the highest quality care.”Launched in April 2011, the Partnership for Patients now consists of more than 6,500 partners, including over 3,167 hospitals, along with employers, health plans, physicians, nurses, patient advocates, and state and federal government officials who have pledged to work together to reduce the number of hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent and reduce hospital readmissions by 20 percent by the end of 2013. Achieving the Partnership for Patients’ objectives would mean approximately 1.8 million fewer injuries to patients in the hospital, saving over 60,000 lives over three years, and would mean more than 1.6 million patients recovered from illness without suffering a preventable complication requiring re-hospitalization.  For more information on the Partnership for Patients, please visit http://www.healthcare.gov/partnershipforpatients.  For more information on the JCR Hospital Engagement Network please contact Nanne Finis at nfinis@jcrinc.com or 630.268.7429.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:18:08 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Kaiser Permanente’s Journey to Create a Culture of Learning Explored in in December Issue of Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2011/12/1/Kaiser-Permanente’s-Journey-to-Create-a-Culture-of-Learning-Explored-in/</link> 
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				(Oak Brook, Ill. – December 1, 2011) Becoming a learning organization is the focus of a new article published in the December 2011 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety™.  The article is the fourth and final in a series by Kaiser Permanente, which documents its five-year performance improvement journey.The article, “Kaiser Permanente’s Performance Improvement System, Part 4:Creating a Learning Organization,” describes and reflects on the effectiveness ofKaiser Permanente’s strategy for creating a systemic capacity for continuous improvement that characterizes a learning organization.The authors, led by Lisa Schilling, R.N., M.P.H., vice president, National Health Care Performance Improvement and Execution Strategy, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Oakland, California, and a member of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety’s Editorial Advisory Board, discuss how a health care organization can sustain best-in-class quality performance in a rapidly changing environment. They explain how organizations can develop structures and processes that facilitate the acquisition and sharing of knowledge. The authors identify six “building blocks” for achieving a learning organization: • Real-time sharing of meaningful performance data • Formal training in problem-solving methodology • Workforce engagement and informal knowledge sharing • Leadership structures, beliefs and behaviors • Internal and external benchmarking• Technical knowledge sharing 
		According to the authors, putting each building block into place requires multiple complex strategies – all of which combine top-down and bottom-up approaches. “We encountered challenges at Kaiser Permanente when implementing our strategy to create a system centered on continuous performance improvement. By using the identified building blocks to become a learning organization, we have been able to help our workforce understand how to test, implement and share practices to achieve higher quality care and service.  I believe other organizations, by following the same principles, can successfully transition to a learning culture,” says Schilling.An accompanying editorial, “Building Fundamental Performance Improvement Capabilities: The Kaiser Permanente Experience,” by Kathleen Goonan, M.D., associate in health policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, urges readers not to dismiss the Kaiser Permanente series as irrelevant, in view of its integrated delivery structure or vast size, to their own organizations: “Each of these four articles provides a distinctive lens on effective approaches to overcoming challenges that face every health care organization.” The authors provide fundamental lessons and identify common themes about building high-performing improvement capabilities into an organization’s culture and operations.The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, published monthly by Joint Commission Resources, features peer-reviewed research and case studies on improving quality and safety in health care organizations. To subscribe to The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, please call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 800.746.6578, or visit www.jcrinc.com.
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					<pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:47:13 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Joint Commission Resources Releases its Conference &amp;amp; Seminar Calendar for Spring 2012  </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2011/11/21/Joint-Commission-Resources-Releases-its-Conference-Seminar-Calendar-for-Spring-2012/</link> 
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				View the multi-media release.ATTENTION CALENDAR EDITOR:Please include the important events below in your calendar section. All events provide continuing education contact hours and have been organized by the following accreditation and certification programs:  Hospital, Ambulatory, Behavioral Health Care, Laboratory, Long Term Care, Home Care, Health Care Staffing, and Disease-Specific Care. Click on the event dates below for more information or click the following link to view all available webinar and audio conferences. Hospital Accreditation Program
		
				
						
								Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference Pre-conference
								
										April 10
								
						
						
								Environment of Care Base Camp
								
										March 19-20
								
						
						
								Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference
								
										April 11-12 
						
						
								Exploring the Life Safety Chapter  
								
										Feb. 21-22 March 21-22
								
						
						
								Maximizing Tracer Activities
								
										March 21
										
										May 9  
						
						
								Hospital Accreditation Essentials
								
										March 19-20
										
										May 7-8
								
						
				
		
		
		
				Ambulatory Care Accreditation Program Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference Pre-conference April 10Environment of Care Base Camp March 19-20Annual Emergency Preparedness ConferenceApril 11-12 Exploring the Life Safety Chapter  Feb. 21-22March 21-22Maximizing Tracer ActivitiesMarch 21May 9       
		
				Behavioral Health Care Accreditation ProgramAnnual Emergency Preparedness Conference Pre-conference April 10Annual Emergency Preparedness ConferenceApril 11-12 Maximizing Tracer ActivitiesMarch 21May 9   Laboratory Services Accreditation Program Maximizing Tracer ActivitiesMarch 21May 9   Long Term Care Accreditation Program  
		
				
						
								
										Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference Pre-conference 
								
										
										April 10
								
						
						
								
										Environment of Care Base Camp 
								
										March 19-20
								
						
						
								
										Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference
								
										April 11-12 
						
						
								Exploring the Life Safety Chapter  
								
										Feb. 21-22
										
										March 21-22
								
						
						
								Maximizing Tracer Activities
								
										March 21
										
										May 9  
						
				
		
		
		Home Care Accreditation Program  Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference Pre-conference April 10Annual Emergency Preparedness ConferenceApril 11-12 Maximizing Tracer ActivitiesMarch 21May 9  Home Care Accreditation EssentialsMarch 19-20 May 10-11 
		
		Health Care Staffing Services Certification Program  Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference Pre-conference April 10Annual Emergency Preparedness ConferenceApril 11-12 Maximizing Tracer ActivitiesMarch 21May 9  Disease-Specific Care Certification Program Maximizing Tracer ActivitiesMarch 21May 9    
###Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,300 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,500 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission also provides certification of more than 2,000 disease-specific care programs, primary stroke centers, and health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, is the official publisher and educator of The Joint Commission. JCR is an expert resource for health care organizations, providing consulting services, educational services and publications to assist in improving quality and safety and to help in meeting the accreditation standards of The Joint Commission. JCR provides consulting services independently from The Joint Commission and in a fully confidential manner. Please visit our Web site at www.jcrinc.com. ]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:55:09 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Use of Technology Urged to Combat Racial, Ethnic Disparities in Health Care</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2011/10/17/Use-of-Technology-Urged-to-Combat-Racial-Ethnic-Disparities-in-Health-Care/</link> 
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						Joint Commission Journal findings show need for automation to improve safety, quality
				
		
		
				
						(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – October 17, 2011) Differences in the quality and safety of medical treatment that minorities receive could be reduced through the better use of health information technology (HIT), according to a new article published in the October 2011 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety™. An accompanying editorial calls for automating and standardizing the data collection about a patient’s race, ethnicity, and language to identify and address inequities in the quality of care for minorities.The article, “Bridging the Digital Divide in Health Care: The Role of Health Information Technology in Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities,” contends that the U.S. health care system is not well designed to provide equitable care. The authors—led by Lenny López, M.D., M.Div., M.P.H., assistant in health policy at the Mongan Institute for Health Policy, and faculty at the Disparities Solutions Center, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston—urge development of an HIT infrastructure that addresses disparities in care from the start. Specifically, Dr. López and colleagues recommend that health care organizations take the following steps:• Automate and standardize the collection of race/ethnicity and language data.• Prioritize use of the data for identifying disparities and tailoring quality improvement efforts.• Focus HIT efforts to address fragmented care delivery for racial/ethnic minorities and limited-English-proficiency patients.• Develop focused computerized clinical decision support systems in clinical areas with significant health disparities.• Include input from racial/ethnic minorities and those with limited English proficiency in developing patient HIT tools.The recommendations are intended to address the root causes for disparities in care for minority patients. Among the root causes are health care system factors such as patients having difficulty navigating the health care system, provider factors such as language barriers or cultural beliefs that hamper doctor-patient communication, and patient factors such as mistrust of the medical system.“Racial and ethnic disparities in health care have been consistently documented in the diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of many common clinical conditions. There has been an acceleration of health information technology (HIT) implementation in the United States, with health care reform legislation including multiple provisions for collecting and using health information to improve and monitor quality and efficiency in health care,” says Dr. López. “Despite an uneven and generally low level of implementation, research has demonstrated that HIT has the potential to improve quality of care and patient safety. If carefully designed and implemented, HIT also has the potential to eliminate disparities.”In an editorial, “Health Information Technology and the Collection of Race, Ethnicity and Language Data to Reduce Disparities in Quality of Care,” Adil H. Haider, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, and Peter J. Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D., at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, note that making transparent the disparities in health care quality by race, ethnicity and primary language can be accomplished only by using HIT to routinely collect these data. “As hospitals roll out new health information technology systems and expand the use of electronic health records, automatic and standardized collection of race/ethnicity/language data should be incorporated to help identify otherwise invisible disparities and inform appropriate interventions,” says Dr. Haider.The Joint Commission, The Institute of Medicine and the National Quality Forum have all highlighted the importance of race, ethnicity and language data collection and reporting in order to address disparities in health care. The Joint Commission specifically requires accredited hospitals to document patients’ race and ethnicity and released new and revised standards in 2010 for patient-centered communication as part of an initiative to advance effective communication, cultural competence, and patient- and family-centered care. These standards are designed to improve the safety and quality of care for all patients and to inspire hospitals to adopt practices promoting better communication and patient engagement.The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, published monthly by Joint Commission Resources, features peer-reviewed research and case studies on improving quality and safety in health care organizations. To subscribe to The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, please call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 800.746.6578, or visit www.jcrinc.com.
				
		
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					<pubDate>Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:41:32 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Joint Commission/JCR to Host Nov. 16-17 Behavioral Health Care Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2011/10/14/Joint-Commission/JCR-to-Host-Nov-16-17-Behavioral-Health-Care-Conference/</link> 
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						Joint Commission/JCR to Host Nov. 16-17 Behavioral Health Care Conference(Oak Brook, Ill. – October 14, 2011) The success of a behavioral health care organization depends on its ability to demonstrate and validate that people experience improved, sustainable outcomes as a result of its services. How to accomplish this imperative will be the focus of the November 16-17 Joint Commission Annual Behavioral Health Care Conference and 2012 Accreditation Standards Update in Lombard, Ill. The program is sponsored by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.“Innovation and Results: Surviving the Times” at The Westin Lombard Yorktown Center will provide an update on the 2012 accreditation standards and survey process for behavioral health care, as well as workshops on developing and writing effective plans for care, treatment and services. Plenary sessions will discuss outcome measures, sustaining program viability and innovative organization models. Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission, will kick off the conference with "Navigating the Turbulent Health Care World:  Prospects and Perils," a presentation examining strategies for behavioral health care organizations to succeed while facing uncertainties and keep their missions intact.Cost of the conference is $649. A discounted price of $619 per person is available for registration and payment 30 days before the conference or $595 per registrant is offered for teams of three or more. To register for the conference, please call JCR Customer Service at (877) 223-6866 or register online at www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/Annual-Conference-on-Behavioral-Health-Care/2264/.
				
		
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					<pubDate>Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:23:31 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>HEALTH CARE WORKERS ACHIEVE 80 PERCENT FLU VACCINATION AVERAGE FOR THE 2010-2011 FLU SEASON</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2011/10/11/HEALTH-CARE-WORKERS-ACHIEVE-80-PERCENT-FLU-VACCINATION-AVERAGE-FOR-THE-2010-2011-FLU-SEASON/</link> 
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		Flu Vaccination Challenge Participants Surpass National Average for Health Care Workers
		
				[Oak Brook, Ill. – October 7, 2011] – Today, Joint Commission Resources (JCR) announced the results of its third annual Flu Vaccination Challenge, a national program to increase flu vaccination rates among health care workers.  Participating health care organizations (n=826) reached an 80 percent flu vaccination average among staff during the 2010-2011 flu season, which is 16 percent higher than the national average among health care workers of nearly 64 percent. Since 2008, the Flu Vaccination Challenge has helped health care organizations to steadily raise staff vaccination rates for flu.  With the upcoming 2011-2012 Flu Vaccination Challenge, JCR aims to continue increasing flu vaccination rates among health care workers, challenging organizations to achieve at least a 75 percent flu vaccination rate among staff this flu season.
		“We commend the thousands of organizations that have participated in the Flu Vaccination Challenge and raised their vaccination rates over the last three years,” says William Schaffner, M.D., chairman, Department of Preventive Medicine, and professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.  “Flu vaccination is an annual need, and the challenge helps health care organizations reinforce the importance of vaccination with staff.”
		Flu vaccination of health care workers is important not only to help protect themselves but also to reduce the likelihood that patients or the individuals served will be exposed to the flu.  Studies have demonstrated that health care workers can be a potential source of flu infection.  Both The Joint Commission and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognize the importance of flu vaccination for health care workers and provide health care organizations with guidance for staff vaccination.   
		“An 80 percent flu vaccination average among staff at organizations participating in the most recent Flu Vaccination Challenge represents excellent progress,” says Tom Talbot, M.D., M.P.H., chief hospital epidemiologist and associate professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and JCR consultant. “It is crucial that health care workers receive their flu vaccination every year to avoid putting themselves, their colleagues and their patients at risk.”
		Additional Results from the 2010-2011 Flu Vaccination ChallengeFor the 2010-2011 flu season, JCR challenged health care organizations across the country to achieve seasonal flu vaccination rates of 75, 85 or 95 percent among their staff to attain a Bronze, Silver or Gold Recognition Award, respectively. Of the organizations that submitted data (n=826), two thirds (66 percent) met the challenge by achieving 75 percent or higher seasonal flu vaccination among their staff.  Seventeen percent achieved a Gold vaccination level, 22 percent achieved a Silver vaccination level and 27 percent achieved a Bronze vaccination level.  With help from the Flu Vaccination Challenge, approximately 780,000 health care workers were vaccinated against the seasonal flu.
		Announcing the 2011-2012 Flu Vaccination ChallengeThe 2011-2012 Flu Vaccination Challenge begins today and will continue through spring 2012.  Now entering its fourth year, JCR continues to challenge health care organizations to achieve a 75, 85 or 95 percent flu vaccination rate among staff during the upcoming flu season. JCR will recognize organizations that “meet” the challenge with a Bronze, Silver or Gold Recognition Award for their dedication to helping to keep their staff and patients healthy by vaccinating against the flu. To participate in this year’s challenge and to find additional resources, health care organizations should visit FluVaccinationChallenge.com.
		About the FluThe flu is a contagious and potentially deadly infection.  Flu viruses are mainly spread from person to person via droplets from coughing or sneezing.  Transmission also may occur through direct or indirect contact, such as when touching something already laden with the flu virus, then touching the eyes, nose or mouth. Every year in the United States, between 5 and 20 percent of the population may become infected with the flu. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on average, more than 200,000 people in the United States are hospitalized each year for respiratory and heart illnesses associated with seasonal flu infections. Additionally, over a period of 30 years, between 1976 and 2006, estimates of flu-associated deaths in the United States ranged from a low of approximately 3,000 to a high of approximately 49,000 people.
		According to the CDC, annual flu vaccination is the most effective method for preventing flu virus infection and its complications. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends annual flu vaccination for all individuals 6 months of age and older. While flu vaccination benefits all age groups, certain people have a higher risk for flu complications, such as individuals 50 years of age and older and people with chronic medical conditions. It is important that these people and those in close contact with them – including all health care personnel – continue to be a primary focus for vaccination efforts. 
		About Joint Commission ResourcesJoint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, is the official publisher and educator of The Joint Commission. JCR is an expert resource for health care organizations, providing consulting services, educational services and publications to assist in improving quality and safety and to help in meeting the accreditation standards of The Joint Commission. JCR provides consulting services independently from The Joint Commission and in a fully confidential manner. Please visit our website at www.jcrinc.com. 
		JCR received funding and other editorial support from GlaxoSmithKline for the Flu Vaccination Challenge initiative.
		Contact:  Bret CoonsThe Joint Commission (630) 792-5175bcoons@jointcommission.org
		Jennifer PaganelliCohn & Wolfe     (212) 798-9847jennifer.paganelli@cohnwolfe.com
		 
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					<pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:44:06 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Joint Commission Resources Releases New E-dition&#174; for Disease-Specific Care </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2011/10/11/Joint-Commission-Resources-Releases-New-E-dition®-for-Disease-Specific-Care/</link> 
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		New Electronic Manual Covers Disease-Specific Care Certification Standards
		
				(Oak Brook, Ill.—August 8, 2011) Joint Commission Resources has announced that the 2011 Joint Commission Disease-Specific Care Certification standards and requirements will now be available through E-dition®, which provides online access and automatic updates to The Joint Commission standards. The new E-dition for Disease-Specific Care Certification allows easy access to the same in-depth content found in the Disease-Specific Care Manual through a website that is designed for even the occasional user.  
		 E-dition provides users with easy online access, quick click navigation, full-text searching, current standards information, and standards filtering by program. The new E-dition for Disease-Specific Care Certification covers the requirements for delivering or facilitating clinical care, supporting self-management, program management, clinical information management, and performance measurement. Other essential information on the certification process, certification participation requirements, and sentinel events are also included.
		 In addition to the core Disease-Specific Care Certification program, E-dition supports the following seven advanced certification modules, allowing users to focus on the standards most applicable to their specific settings, which include:• Chronic Kidney Disease• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease• Heart Failure (clinically-specific requirements due mid-2011)• Inpatient Diabetes Care• Lung Volume Reduction• Primary Stroke Center• Ventricular Assist Devices
		 Ensuring continuous compliance for the Disease-Specific Care Certification program begins with a staff that is knowledgeable about Joint Commission standards and requirements. Health care organizations can choose to purchase a site license for E-dition that ensures all staff members have access to the benefits that E-dition offers at any time with unrestricted simultaneous use.  
		 A single user license can be purchased starting at $398 and a site license can be purchased starting at $1,390. To order the new E-dition for Disease-Specific Care Certification, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or visit www.jcrinc.com/E-dition-for-Certification-Programs/
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					<pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:13:37 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Paula Wilson Appointed President and CEO of JCR and JCI</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2011/8/23/Paula-Wilson-Appointed-President-and-CEO-of-JCR-and-JCI/</link> 
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		(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – August 23, 2011) The Joint Commission today announced the appointment of Paula Wilson as president and chief executive officer of Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and Joint Commission International (JCI). In this role Wilson will direct all operations of JCR and JCI.JCR, a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, is the official publisher and educator of The Joint Commission. Through international accreditation, consultation, publications and education programs, JCI extends The Joint Commission’s mission worldwide by helping to improve the quality of patient care.  JCI assists international health care organizations, public health agencies, health ministries and others in more than 60 countries.Wilson was appointed temporary president and CEO of JCR and JCI in June 2010. Since then, a Search Committee conducted a thorough process to select a new president and CEO and determined that Wilson was the most qualified candidate for the position. Her appointment received a unanimous vote of approval from The Joint Commission Board of Commissioners and the strong support of the JCR Board. “Over the past year, Paula’s passion for this job and her commitment to the missions of JCR and JCI have been evident,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H. “Our staff and customers have greatly benefited from her exemplary leadership and guidance. I am delighted that she is now a permanent member of our enterprise leadership team.”Prior to joining JCR, Wilson ran her own consulting practice in New York City and also taught at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.Wilson was previously the vice president for policy at the United Hospital Fund and led efforts to shape public policy changes related to insurance coverage, health care financing and Medicaid. From 1998 to 2005, Wilson was an associate professor at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), where she taught courses in financial management and public and nonprofit administration. Earlier in her career, she served in several senior positions in the administration of New York Governor Mario Cuomo, including executive deputy commissioner of the New York State Department of Health where she was responsible for all operational and management activities of a $1.2 billion organization with 7,000 employees. Wilson received her master’s degree in social work from the State University of New York at Albany. ]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:34:35 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Six JCR Books Recognized as Doody’s Core Titles 2011</title> 
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		(Oak Brook, Ill.—May 25, 2011)  Six books published by Joint Commission Resources (JCR) have been recognized as Doody’s Core Titles in Health Sciences 2011. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Doody’s Core Titles in Health Sciences are selected each year by more than 200 content specialists and librarians. The Doody’s list helps medical, nursing and allied health librarians around the world make the book-buying decisions for their libraries. The list, representing less than two percent of professional-level health sciences titles in print, suggests core titles that represent essential knowledge needed by professionals or students in a given discipline.JCR titles noted as Doody’s Core Titles in Health Sciences 2011 are:• “The APIC/JCR Infection Prevention and Control Workbook, Second Edition,” edited by Kathleen Arias and Barbara M. Soule • “2011 Standards for Ambulatory Care” • “Addressing Patients’ Health Literacy Needs” • “Infection Prevention and Control Issues in the Environment of Care, Second Edition” • “Environment of Care Essentials, Ninth Edition” (please note:  this edition has been updated for 2011)• “Spreading Improvement Across Your Health Care Organization,” edited by Marie Schall and Kevin Nolan, co-published with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement  To order any of these publications, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or visit www.jcrinc.com.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 25 May 2011 16:04:33 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources Annual Conference Set for June 8-10 in Chicago</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2011/5/19/The-Joint-Commission-and-Joint-Commission-Resources-Annual-Conference-Set-for-June-8-10-in-Chicago/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[View the multi-media release(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – May 19, 2011) Professor James Reason, whose seminal work on human error has shaped efforts to improve health care safety, will be the keynote speaker at the June 8-10 Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources’ Annual Conference on Quality and Patient Safety at the Hilton Chicago.The 2011 conference, “Come Together—A Gathering of Leading Ideas in Quality and Safety,” will offer health care leaders information on leadership and quality improvement initiatives, cost reduction strategies, and personal, professional and organizational safety. Professor Reason, the internationally known professor and author of Human Error and other books focusing on adverse events, will kick off the conference with “Human Factors in Patient Safety—Retrospect and Prospect.” The opening day will conclude with Bassett Healthcare Network Chief Nursing Officer Connie Jastremski’s discussion of using regulatory requirements to inspire innovation. Other key speakers will include Fred Lee, author of If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 9½ Things You Would Do Differently; Jane Holl, M.D., M.P.P., Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, who will explore issues related to assessing and improving pediatric safety and quality of care through simulation; and Mark R. Chassin, M.D.,FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission, will speak on  “The Challenge of High Reliability Healthcare.” In this presentation he will review how the demands are increasing for health care organizations to eliminate preventable complications and provide extraordinarily safe environments for patients. Two optional pre-conference workshops will be presented on the morning of June 8:• Creating a Better Patient Experience: Joint Commission, CMS, Magnet and Baldrige Alignment. This program will provide participants with a side-by-side analysis of Joint Commission, CMS, Magnet and Baldrige requirements; an overview of how patients benefit from the alignment of these organizations; and information on how to build an infrastructure that supports implementation of alignment. • SPC: Simple Performance Calculations for Health Care Improvement.As providers compete for limited health care economic resources, they must demonstrate to payers, purchasers, consumers and internal customers that they provide coordinated, efficient care and services that result in desirable outcomes and improved health, as well as patient satisfaction. This program is designed to meet the needs of health care administrators and providers wanting to learn more about how to apply statistical process control (SPC) tools to measure the success of efforts to improve processes and outcomes. Cost of the national conference is $995 or discounted at $895 for registration by May 31. A discounted rate of $849 is also available for three participants from the same organization. Cost of pre-conference is $249, or $229 for registration by May 31. The discounted rate is not valid on previous registrations. To register to participate, please call the Joint Commission’s Customer Service Center at 1.877.223.6866 or visit www.jcrinc.com.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Thu, 19 May 2011 14:36:24 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR and The Joint Commission &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;  Host the 2011 Emergency Preparedness Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2011/4/11/JCR-and-The-Joint-Commission-Host-the-2011-Emergency-Preparedness-Conference/</link> 
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		Build Your Health Care Organization’s Emergency Procedures with Expert Advice April 27-28
		
				(Oak Brook, Ill.—April 11, 2011) Being in the middle of a large scale emergency is the last thing most health care organizations want to imagine. But emergency plans need to be in place when disaster or an unforeseen event strikes. A prepared health care organization can be the deciding factor in saving countless lives in the face of catastrophe. The seventh annual emergency preparedness conference, “Collaboration, Continuity and Community,” will help supply the authoritative knowledge and tools necessary for health care providers to be prepared when they are needed most. The conference was designed and developed by nationally recognized industry experts in health care emergency preparedness and is presented by The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources. The conference will be held April 27-28, at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, Va.The focus of the emergency preparedness conference, “Collaboration, Continuity and Community,” is on the six critical elements of emergency preparedness: communications, resources and assets, safety and security, staff responsibilities, utilities and clinical, and support activities. There will be a forum for attendees to share their organization's emergency operation plans and best practices. Plenary sessions include a panel of hospital, non-hospital and community representatives discussing the model of a successful collaborative plan. The conference’s individual track sessions will offer a spectrum of topics, such as integrating best practices and compliance with The Joint Commission’s standards.Additionally, a preconference will be offered on April 26. Morning sessions will cover The Joint Commission emergency management standards, case studies and a Hospital Incident Command System update with a “back to the basics” approach. In the afternoon, concurrent interactive sessions will provide relevant applications in a scenario-based environment. The conference and preconference are recommended for health care emergency staff, safety officers, medical directors, nursing trauma coordinators, security directors, facilities managers, operations directors, emergency response planners and members of community agencies responsible for developing emergency plans. Attendees can register individually for $849. Organizations with three or more participants at the conference may register for a discounted price of $629 per person. To register, please call JCR Customer Service at 1.877.223.6866, or for additional details, a conference agenda and to register online click here.http://www.pwrnewmedia.com/2011/joint_commission/emergency_preparedness/
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					<pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:57:49 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>The Joint Commission Taps &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Dr. Ana Pujols-McKee as CMO</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/12/22/The-Joint-Commission-Taps-Dr-Ana-Pujols-McKee-as-CMO/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – December 22, 2011) The Joint Commission today announced the appointment of Ana Pujols-McKee, M.D., as executive vice president and chief medical officer, effective February 14, 2011.In this role, Dr. McKee will represent The Joint Commission enterprise as she focuses on and develops policies and strategies for promoting patient safety and quality improvement in health care.  Her specific responsibilities will include providing support to The Joint Commission’s Patient Safety Advisory Group; overseeing work related to the development of the Sentinel Event Policy, National Patient Safety Goals and Sentinel Event Alerts; supervising the Sentinel Event Database; and overseeing the functions of the Standards Interpretation Group and the Office of Quality Monitoring. Dr. McKee also will provide clinical guidance and support to the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, Joint Commission Resources and Joint Commission International.Dr. McKee, who is currently chief medical officer and associate executive director at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania Health System, and associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has been a strong advocate for improving access to health care. Previously, she served as medical director for the Philadelphia Health Department's free standing health centers.  She is a former board member of the American Cancer Society, the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, Health Partners Philadelphia, and Philadelphia AIDS Consortium, and currently is board chair for the Pennsylvania Safety Authority and vice chair for the Public Health Management Corporation. Dr. McKee also sits on the board of Quality Insights of Pennsylvania. In addition, she served on the Food and Drug Administration's Advisory Committee and on several committees of the National Institutes of Health. “Ana has a well-deserved reputation as a dynamic leader who forms strong, effective partnerships that promote health care quality and patient safety. Her talents will serve The Joint Commission well as it continues to focus on helping health care organizations excel in providing the highest quality and safest care that Americans expect and deserve,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission.Dr. McKee holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, Philadelphia. She completed her residency at Presbyterian Medical Center, Philadelphia, and is board certified in internal medicine.  ]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:48:26 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Releases Book on the Value &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;  of Close Calls in Improving Patient Safety</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/12/20/JCR-Releases-Book-on-the-Value-of-Close-Calls-in-Improving-Patient-Safety/</link> 
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		(Oak Brook, Ill.—December 20, 2010)  Joint Commission Resources (JCR) today announced the release of the book, “The Value of Close Calls in Improving Patient Safety:  Learning How to Avoid and Mitigate Patient Harm.”  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  Because close calls, often termed near misses, don’t raise the same concerns about malpractice liability and may be less emotionally charged than errors that cause serious harm, they are a unique source of learning for individuals and organizations striving to keep patients safe.  This book, edited by patient safety expert Albert Wu, M.D., M.P.H., a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a physician at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, features 15 detailed case studies from a variety of clinical disciplines and specialties that show how health care organizations can use close calls to identify, investigate and solve patient safety problems. “Working with the authors for this book showed me just how useful close calls can be for uncovering flaws in the ways we take care of patients—and in suggesting ways to fix them to protect patients from harm,” says Dr. Wu. In the book’s foreword, James Reason, Ph.D., the renowned expert in human error, states that close calls are “free lessons” about how patient harm occurs. “Chronicling, analyzing, debating and disseminating stories about close calls are prerequisites for achieving the unrelenting vigilance and informed wariness that are vital steps along the path to improving patient safety.” Robert M. Wachter, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, states, “This superb book tells us why analyzing close calls is so important to patient safety and shows us how to do it. It should be on the bookshelf of everyone interested in keeping patients safe.”  “The Joint Commission’s view of patient safety incidents includes close calls, and this book illustrates the reasons why close calls are so important to the risk reduction process,” says Paul M. Schyve, M.D. Senior Vice President, Healthcare Improvement, The Joint Commission. “If we want to get serious about patient safety, conducting root cause analyses of close calls is just as important as the analyses of sentinel events in which actual harm has come to a patient. Close calls are key opportunities to uncover vulnerabilities in a system and shouldn’t be overlooked in a safety culture.”The book is available for $85 using order code VNM10. To order this book, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or visit www.jcrinc.com.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:42:58 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Dr. Suet Wun Lim to chair &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; JCR Board</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/11/29/Dr-Suet-Wun-Lim-to-chair-JCR-Board/</link> 
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		Dr. LaMar S. McGinnis to serve as vice chair(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – November 29, 2010) Joint Commission Resources today announced the appointment of Suet Wun Lim, M.D., as chair of its Board of Directors and LaMar S. McGinnis, M.D., F.A.C.S., as vice chair for 2011. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Dr. Lim has served as an outside international director on the JCR Board since 2004; he is currently vice chair on the JCR Executive Committee and previously served as a member-at-large on the JCR Executive Committee. Dr. Lim has served on the JCR Accreditation Committee since 2004 and the JCR Human Resources and Compensation Committee since 2009. He is CEO of Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore.“Dr. Lim’s years of experience with JCR and the international health care arena, his familiarity with JCI’s reach internationally as we continue our rapid growth, and his leadership experience will be important as we seek new ways to create a culture of safety that supports the continuum of health care,” says Paula Wilson, president and CEO, JCR.Dr. McGinnis has served as an American College of Surgeons (ACS) Commissioner on The Joint Commission’s Board of Commissioners since 2005. He has served on the Joint Commission Executive Committee since 2009 and is currently chair of the Governance Committee. Dr. McGinnis has also served as a commissioner on the JCR Board of Directors since 2009, currently serving as secretary of the JCR Executive Committee; he served as vice chair of the JCR Executive Committee in 2009. He currently is chair of the JCR Accreditation Committee. He also is senior medical advisor and liaison at the American Cancer Society.In addition to the appointment of the chair and vice chair, JCR announced the appointments of Nabil Kronfol, M.D., Dr.PH., and Tamra E. Minnier, RN, MSN, FACHE, to the Board of Directors. Both will serve three-year terms through December 31, 2013. Dr. Kronfol is president and founder of the Lebanese HealthCare Management Association, a professional not-for-profit association that aims at the further development of the science of management in the health sector and of the health care delivery systems in Lebanon and the Middle East. He is also a professor of health administration at the University of Balamand, Lebanon and at the Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University. Dr. Kronfol earned a doctor of public health (health services administration) and master of public health from the Harvard University School of Public Health, as well as a doctor of medicine from the American University of Beruit. He has authored and edited numerous books and publications about health care in the Middle East.Ms. Minnier is chief quality officer for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). In addition, she serves as CEO for UPMC’s Sim Medical and as executive director of UPMC’s Beckwith Institute for Innovation in Patient Care. Ms. Minnier earned a master of science in the graduate program of nursing administration along with a bachelor of science from the University of Pittsburgh. She is adjunct faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh and Chatham University and has served on the national faculty for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Ms. Minnier is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, National Honor Society of Nursing, the American Organization of Nurse Executives and American College of Healthcare Executives. She is a frequent presenter at health care quality and safety conferences and has authored articles for numerous health care and nursing publications.
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					<pubDate>Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:05:33 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Dr. Suet Wun Lim to chair&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; JCR Board</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/11/18/Dr-Suet-Wun-Lim-to-chair-JCR-Board/</link> 
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				Dr. LaMar S. McGinnis to serve as vice chair
				
				
		
		(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – November 18, 2010) Joint Commission Resources today announced the appointment of Suet Wun Lim, M.D., as chair of its Board of Directors and LaMar S. McGinnis, M.D., F.A.C.S., as vice chair for 2011. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Dr. Lim has served as an outside international director on the JCR Board since 2004; he is currently vice chair on the JCR Executive Committee and previously served as a member-at-large on the JCR Executive Committee. Dr. Lim has served on the JCR Accreditation Committee since 2004 and the JCR Human Resources and Compensation Committee since 2009. He is CEO of Tan Tock Sing Hospital in Singapore.“Dr. Lim’s years of experience with JCR and the international health care arena, his familiarity with JCI’s reach internationally as we continue our rapid growth, and his leadership experience will be important as we seek new ways to create a culture of safety that supports the continuum of health care,” says Paula Wilson, president and CEO, JCR.Dr. McGinnis has served as an American College of Surgeons (ACS) Commissioner on The Joint Commission’s Board of Commissioners since 2005. He has served on the Joint Commission Executive Committee since 2009 and is currently chair of the Governance Committee. Dr. McGinnis has also served as a commissioner on the JCR Board of Directors since 2009, currently serving as secretary of the JCR Executive Committee; he served as vice chair of the JCR Executive Committee in 2009. He currently is chair of the JCR Accreditation Committee. He also is senior medical advisor and liaison at the American Cancer Society.In addition to the appointment of the chair and vice chair, JCR announced the appointments of Nabil Kronfol, M.D., Dr.PH., and Tamra E. Minnier, RN, MSN, FACHE, to the Board of Directors. Both will serve three-year terms through December 31, 2013.Dr. Kronfol is president and founder of the Lebanese HealthCare Management Association, a professional not-for-profit association that aims at the further development of the science of management in the health sector and of the health care delivery systems in Lebanon and the Middle East. He is also a professor of health administration at the University of Balamand, Lebanon and at the Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University. Dr. Kronfol earned a doctor of public health (health services administration) and master of public health from the Harvard University School of Public Health, as well as a doctor of medicine from the American University of Beruit. He has authored and edited numerous books and publications about health care in the Middle East.Ms. Minnier is chief quality officer for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). In addition, she serves as CEO for UPMC’s Sim Medical and as executive director of UPMC’s Beckwith Institute for Innovation in Patient Care. Ms. Minnier earned a master of science in the graduate program of nursing administration along with a bachelor of science from the University of Pittsburgh. She is adjunct faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh and Chatham University and has served on the national faculty for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Ms. Minnier is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, National Honor Society of Nursing, the American Organization of Nurse Executives and American College of Healthcare Executives. She is a frequent presenter at health care quality and safety conferences and has authored articles for numerous health care and nursing publications.
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					<pubDate>Thu, 18 Nov 2010 14:25:17 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>The Joint Commission Behavioral &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Health Care Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/11/9/The-Joint-Commission-Behavioral-Health-Care-Conference/</link> 
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								(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – November 9, 2010) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources will bring together top experts to present recent research data and conclusions impacting behavioral health care practices, share ideas and prepare behavioral health care organizations for the new federal regulations during the 7th Annual Behavioral Health Care Conference “Hope and Expectations.”The conference, scheduled for November 11-12, 2010, at the Westin River North in Chicago, will offer behavioral health care professionals practical applications to improve their current operations from industry experts and successful behavioral health care organizations. Pamela S. Hyde, J.D., administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, will open the conference by discussing the impact of the Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act on individuals, families, communities and providers. Other conference topics include:• Learning how to integrate behavioral health services into the medical home model• Examining and applying high-reliability principles• Linking Joint Commission accreditation standards and elements of performance to suicide prevention, foster care and other services• Developing effective treatment programs for children and youth• Findings related to behavioral health and military deploymentAn optional pre-conference workshop, 2011 Behavioral Health Care Standards and Survey Process Update, will be held November 10. Expert Joint Commission staff will discuss how to achieve consistent excellence by discussing standards for 2011, including the new Care, Treatment, and Services chapter of the behavioral health care accreditation manual. The pre-conference also offers participants opportunities to learn and share ideas about expectations for eating disorder treatment, outdoor/wilderness programs and animal-assisted treatment; recovery concepts in care, treatment and services; care issues for young adults; management of waiting lists; psychiatric advance directives; and outcome assessment.Cost of the national conference is $649 per person or discounted at $595 per person for three or more participants from the same organization. The pre-conference is $425. To register please call the Joint Commission’s Customer Service Center at 1.877.223.6866 or visit www.jcrinc.com.
				
		
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					<pubDate>Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:57:50 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>New online learning option &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; from JCR,  PerforMax3 and &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Civility Mutual Educational Services</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/11/5/New-online-learning-option-from-JCR-PerforMax3-and-Civility-Mutual-Educational-Services/</link> 
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		(Oak Brook, Ill.—November 5, 2010) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) today announced it has signed a distribution agreement withPerforMax3, Inc., a leading provider of Web-based training solutions for government and private sector health care organizations. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission. Under the distribution agreement, educational content developed by JCR will be distributed under license by PerforMax3 and will also be available from JCR via its e-learning system. In addition, Civility Mutual educational content, delivered by PerforMax3 will also be available. The initial online course released under this agreement is Civility Mutual’s Relationship Based Care – the Series. This three-part course offers more than 9 hours of continuing education credit. The series is based on JCR’s publications: “Healing Words” and “In a Blink” authored by  Michael S. Woods, M.D.; and “Cultural Sensitivity:  A Pocket Guide for Health Care Professionals” by Geri-Ann Galanti, PhD. These courses support key Joint Commission accreditation standards, and the content provides an avenue to assist health care organizations to achieve the standards requirements. The courses address key standards in the Leadership chapter of the accreditation manuals; competency requirements such as professionalism, interpersonal and communication skills; and disclosure; and cultural educational training standards.“The PerforMax3 agreement with JCR is very important to Civility Mutual, as it validates our educational approach to relationship-based care,” notes Michael Woods, M.D., founder of Civility Mutual Educational Services. “Organizations have struggled with how to meet some of the more challenging Joint Commission requirements such as professionalism and interpersonal and communication skills training. They can now do that with Civility Mutual content distributed by PerforMax3 and published by Joint Commission Resources.”   For information about learning options from JCR please call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 800.746.6578, or visit www.jcrinc.com. For more information on Civility Mutual please call 505.603.8410, or visit www.civilitymutual.com.About Joint Commission Resources:Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, is the official publisher and educator of The Joint Commission. JCR is an expert resource for health care organizations, providing consulting services, educational services and publications to assist in improving quality and safety and to help in meeting the accreditation standards of The Joint Commission. JCR provides consulting services independently from The Joint Commission and in a fully confidential manner. Please visit our web site at www.jcrinc.com. 
		About Civility Mutual Educational Services:Civility Mutual® Educational Services provides novel, cutting-edge relationship-based educational materials to health care providers and their organizations. Our goal is to assist health care organizations to achieve greater success in providing relationship-based health care, resulting in safer care of higher quality, greater provider and patient satisfaction, and reduced malpractice liability. Our materials help hospitals and residency programs meet Joint Commission and Accreditation Counsel for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) standards, including competency requirements.
		About Dr. Michael Woods:Dr. Michael Woods – leadership expert, surgeon and author – is known for his work related to the power of apology and disclosure of health care errors.  Woods is a recognized authority and speaker on provider-patient communication and satisfaction, and strategies to reduce medical malpractice. A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, he was a member of the Communications Advisory Panel of The Joint Commission International Center for Patient Safety.  
		About PerforMax3, Inc: PerforMax3, Inc. is a leading provider of web-based training solutions for government and private sector health care organizations. Founded in 1996, PerforMax3 is a privately held company with headquarters in Clearwater, Florida.
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					<pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:23:00 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>New online learning option from &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; JCR and Civility Mutual Educational Services</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/10/26/New-online-learning-option-from-JCR-and-Civility-Mutual-Educational-Services/</link> 
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		(Oak Brook, Ill.—October 26, 2010) Joint Commission Resources (JCR), today announced it has signed a distribution agreement with Civility Mutual’s e-learning partner, PerforMax3, Inc., a leading provider of Web-based training solutions for government and private sector health care organizations. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission. Under the distribution agreement, Civility Mutual content, including educational content delivered by PerforMax3, will be available from JCR via its e-learning system. Civility Mutual’s online courses support key Joint Commission accreditation standards, and the content provides an avenue for health care organizations to meet the standards requirements. The courses address key standards in the Leadership chapter of the accreditation manuals. Competency requirements such as professionalism, interpersonal and communication skills and disclosure, and cultural educational training standards are addressed in the courses.“The PerforMax3 agreement with JCR is very important to Civility Mutual, as it validates our educational approach to relationship-based care,” notes Michael Woods, M.D., founder of Civility Mutual Educational Services. “Organizations have struggled with how to meet some of the more challenging Joint Commission requirements such as professionalism and interpersonal and communication skills training. They can now do that with Civility Mutual content distributed by PerforMax3 and published by Joint Commission Resources.”   The agreement also allows PerforMax3 to distribute content developed and offered by JCR under license from The Joint Commission. For information about learning options from JCR please call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 800.746.6578, or visit www.jcrinc.com. For more information on Civility Mutual please call 505-603-8410, or visit www.civilitymutual.com.About Joint Commission Resources:Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, is the official publisher and educator of The Joint Commission. JCR is an expert resource for health care organizations, providing consulting services, educational services and publications to assist in improving quality and safety and to help in meeting the accreditation standards of The Joint Commission. JCR provides consulting services independently from The Joint Commission and in a fully confidential manner. Please visit our web site at www.jcrinc.com. 
		About Civility Mutual Educational Services:Civility Mutual® Educational Services provides novel, cutting-edge relationship-based educational materials to health care providers and their organizations. Our goal is to assist health care organizations to achieve greater success in providing relationship-based health care, resulting in safer care of higher quality, greater provider and patient satisfaction, and reduced malpractice liability. Our materials help hospitals and residency programs meet Joint Commission and Accreditation Counsel for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) standards, including competency requirements.
		About Dr. Michael Woods:Dr. Michael Woods – leadership expert, surgeon and author – is known for his work related to the power of apology and disclosure of health care errors.  Woods is a recognized authority and speaker on provider-patient communication and satisfaction, and strategies to reduce medical malpractice. A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, he was a member of the Communications Advisory Panel of The Joint Commission International Center for Patient Safety.  
		About PerforMax3, Inc: PerforMax3, Inc. is a leading provider of web-based training solutions for government and private sector health care organizations. Founded in 1996, PerforMax3 is a privately held company with headquarters in Clearwater, Florida.
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					<pubDate>Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:44:14 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Ten JCR Books Recognized &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;as Doody’s Core Titles 2010</title> 
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		(Oak Brook, Ill.—June 24, 2010)  Ten books published by Joint Commission Resources (JCR) have been recognized as Doody’s Core Titles in Health Sciences 2010.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Doody’s Core Titles in Health Sciences are selected each year by more than 200 content specialists and librarians.  The Doody’s list helps medical, nursing and allied health librarians around the world make the book-buying decisions for their libraries. The list, representing less than two percent of professional-level health sciences titles in print, suggests core titles that represent essential knowledge needed by professionals or students in a given discipline. JCR titles noted as Doody’s Core Titles in Health Sciences 2010 are:• “2010 Standards for Ambulatory Care” http://www.jcrinc.com/Accreditation-Manuals/2010-Standards-for-Ambulatory-Care/1825/• “2010 Standards for Behavioral Health Care” http://www.jcrinc.com/Accreditation-Manuals/2010-Standards-for-Behavioral-Health-Care/1828/• “Addressing Patients’ Health Literacy Needs” http://www.jcrinc.com/Books-and-E-books/Addressing-Patients-Health-Literacy-Needs/484/• “The APIC/JCR Infection Prevention and Control Workbook, Second Edition,” edited by Kathleen Arias and Barbara M. Soule http://www.jcrinc.com/Books-and-E-books/The-APIC-JCR-Infection-Prevention-and-Control-Workbook-Second-Edition/1740/• “Best Practices in Infection Control: An International Handbook,” edited by by Barbara M. Soule and Ziad A. Memish http://www.jcrinc.com/Books-and-E-books/BEST-PRACTICES-IN-INFECTION-CONTROL-INTL-HNDBK-SOFTCOVER/435/• “Infection Control Issues in the Environment of Care, First Edition” http://www.jcrinc.com/Books-and-E-books/Infection-Prevention-and-Control-Issues-in-the-Environment-of-Care-Second-Edition/1618/• “Managing Performance Measurement Data in Health Care, Second Edition” http://www.jcrinc.com/Books-and-E-books/MANAGING-PERFORMANCE-MEASUREME-NT-DATA-IN-HEALTH-CARE-2ND-Ed/1347/• “Medical Team Training: Strategies for Improving Patient Care and Communication” http://www.jcrinc.com/e-books/EBMTT08/2051/• “Meeting the Joint Commission's Infection Prevention and Control Requirements: A Priority Focus Area, Second Edition” http://www.jcrinc.com/Books-and-E-books/Meeting-The-Joint-Commissions-Infection-Prevention-and-Control-Requirements-2nd-edition/1302/• “Spreading Improvement Across Your Health Care Organization,” edited by Marie Schall and Kevin Nolan, copublished with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement http://www.jcrinc.com/Books-and-E-books/SPREADING-IMPROVEMENT-ACROSS-YOUR-HEALTH-CARE-ORGANIZATION/453/
		To order, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or visit www.jcrinc.com/Doodys-Core-Titles-2010/.
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					<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jun 2010 05:10:34 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Releases Book, Civil &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Leadership: The Final Step to &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Achieving Safety, Quality, Innovation, and Profitability in Health Care</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/5/25/JCR-Releases-Book-Civil-Leadership-The-Final-Step-to-Achieving-Safety-Quality-Innovation-and-Profitability-in-Health-Care/</link> 
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				(Oak Brook, Ill.—May 24, 2010) In his latest book for Joint Commission Resources (JCR), best-selling author Michael S. Woods, M.D., M.M.M., tackles the issues of disruptive and intimidating behavior among physicians, nurses and other health care providers and how such behavior negatively affects patient safety and outcomes.  “Civil Leadership: The Final Step to Achieving Safety, Quality, Innovation, and Profitability in Health Care” offers common-sense, business-savvy leadership advice to health care providers, but the lessons offered are also valuable for nonclinical staff, as well as patients.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  Dr. Woods, a practicing surgeon, contends in the book that “we can never achieve the kind of quality and safety we should have without commitment to civility” and ties the concept of civility to better employee and customer retention, higher patient satisfaction, and lower liability risks.  The book covers topic such as:
		• Relationship-based civil leadership• The self-inflicted injuries of disruptive and uncivil behavior• Relationship-based civil leadership as a health care business strategy• Community, motivation and the patient• Why civility-driven, relationship-based care is important now• Self-Inflicted Wounds: The Seven Common Leadership Missteps® of physicians• Standards for civility-driven behavior and professionalism“Civil Leadership: The Final Step to Achieving Safety, Quality, Innovation, and Profitability in Health Care,” includes a foreword from “The New York Times” bestselling author Marshall Goldsmith, who calls the book “wonderful” and its focus “critical” to “today’s changing workplace.”  The book is available for $39 using order code LTTM10.  The publication is also offered in PDF format.  To order this book, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or visit www.jcrinc.com.
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					<pubDate>Tue, 25 May 2010 07:21:18 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR and Hill-Rom Name Nurse&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Safety Scholar-in-Residence</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/5/17/JCR-and-Hill-Rom-Name-Nurse-Safety-Scholar-in-Residence/</link> 
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		Diane Whitworth of Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital to lead efforts to develop tools and insights into the prevention of pressure ulcersView multi-media release
		(OAK BROOK, Ill. and BATESVILLE, Ind. – May 17, 2010) Diane Whitworth has been named the Nurse Safety Scholar-in-Residence by Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and Hill-Rom (NYSE:HRC).  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  Hill-Rom is a global medical technology company.Whitworth is a certified wound, ostomy and continence nurse (CWOCN) with more than 30 years of clinical experience.  She is currently responsible for the wound care team at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital, a 391-bed acute care hospital and magnet designated facility in Richmond, Va.Recognizing the important role that nurses play in translating evidence-based findings into excellent care at the patient’s bedside, the Nurse Safety Scholar-in-Residence program, in its second year of a three-year project, focuses on developing tools and best practices to maintain skin integrity and to prevent pressure ulcers.  An estimated 2.5 million patients are treated annually for pressure ulcers in acute care facilities in the United States, according to studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003 and 2006.  A December 2008 report by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) states that in 2006 there were 503,000 hospital stays with pressure ulcers noted as a diagnosis, nearly an 80 percent increase since 1993.  Lengths of stay, discharges to long term care settings, average patient age, and mortality were all higher in patients with pressure ulcers than in those without.  Pressure ulcers are among the preventable conditions and events on Medicare’s “no pay” list. “Diane’s leadership experience as a clinician and educator will be an asset as we continue the Nurse Safety Scholar-in-Residence project and pursue continued development and dissemination of innovative solutions to prevent pressure ulcers,” said Nanne Finis, RN, M.S., executive director, Solutions Services, JCR.“We are fortunate to have Diane as our scholar. Her passion for patient care, her commitment to pressure ulcer prevention and her desire to transform health care delivery will have a long lasting impact,“ noted Melissa Fitzpatrick, RN, M.S.N., FAAN, Hill-Rom’s Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer.  "We are excited to see this program move into its second year and are proud to be a part of it.  At Hill-Rom, we strive to use our resources in ways that make a difference every day in the lives of patients and their caregivers and this type of program is a perfect fit for us."Whitworth, the second nurse to be named in this program, will serve a six-month appointment as Patient Safety Nurse Scholar-in-Residence.  During her term, which ends September 30, 2010, she will work closely with JCR and Hill-Rom experts to achieve the goals of the program:   • To foster the professional development of expert nurse clinicians and scholars to become translators of evidence into practice;• To disseminate best practice processes associated with providing safe care for specific clinical problems; and• To continue the work of a  hospital-based collaborative project focused on the implementation of pressure ulcer reduction strategies.Nurse practitioner Irene M. Jankowski, A.P.R.N., M.S.N, C.W.O.C.N., of Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, N.Y., was the first Nurse Safety Scholar-in-Residence.  Jankowski’s blog is available on the program’s Web site.  The program is being led by Roberta Fruth, RN, M.S., Ph.D., senior consultant, Joint Commission Resources.  Fruth has more than 30 years of experience in health care operations and education in hospital, ambulatory and international settings. Previously, she served as chief nurse executive and vice president of patient services at St. Joseph Hospital, Chicago, Ill. For more information about the program, please visit http://www.jcrinc.com/JCR-Hill-Rom-Nurse-Scholar/.  The site will be updated regularly as Whitworth chronicles her work throughout this phase of the project.  The search for a third and final Nurse Safety Scholar-in-Residence begins in July with the term beginning in October 2010.  Look for the application on the JCR Web site in late July.
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					<pubDate>Tue, 18 May 2010 04:14:01 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>The Joint Commission and JCR&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Annual Conference Set for&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; June 23-25 in Chicago</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/4/22/The-Joint-Commission-and-JCR-Annual-Conference-Set-for-June-23-25-in-Chicago/</link> 
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		(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – April 22, 2010) Health care leaders today struggle to improve quality, reduce errors and increase patient safety and satisfaction while containing costs.  Meeting these challenges and focusing on organizational improvement is the subject of The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources’ Annual Conference on Quality and Patient Safety.            The 2010 conference, scheduled for June 23-25 at the Hilton Chicago, will share practical improvement strategies that successful organizations have applied to drive change and sustain organizational transformation.  Speakers will include John J. Nance, J.D., the nationally known author of “Why Hospitals Should Fly.”  Nance, an aviation expert for ABC News and Good Morning America, contends that hospitals will “fly” only by embracing a new paradigm of patient-centered care.  Named the American Healthcare Executives’ 2009 book of the year, “Why Hospitals Should Fly” uses the experience from other industries—most notably aviation—as the foundation for its answers to solving quality and patient safety problems.  Other key speakers will include John Arne Øvretveit, BSc(hons), MPhil, PHD, C. Psychol, C.Sci, MHSM, professor and director of research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, and professor of Health Management, Bergen University, Norway, will discuss his work on "Leading Evidence-Informed Value Improvement.”  Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission, will speak about “Quality and Safety Challenges in the Aftermath of Health Reform.”            Faculty for the three educational track sessions—selected from abstract submissions—have experience in performance improvement activities and results that prove the effectiveness of their best practices.  The three educational tracks that attendees can choose from are Engaging Staff and Patients, Organizational Transformation, and Clinicians at the Forefront of Change.             An optional pre-conference workshop, Using National Patient Safety Goals to Protect Patients 2010-2011 and Beyond, will be held prior to the start of the conference on June 23 at the Hilton Chicago.  At the workshop, expert Joint Commission Resources staff will focus on the standards that organizations have found most challenging in 2010 and expectations for 2011, as well as provide updates related to the Patient Safety Advisory Group, a group of experienced physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other patient safety experts who advise The Joint Commission in the development of National Patient Safety Goals and Sentinel Event Alerts.              Cost of the national conference is $995 or discounted at $895 for registration by May 24.  A discounted rate of $849 is also available for three participants from the same organization.  Cost of pre-conference is $249, or $229 for registration by May 24.  To register, please call The Joint Commission’s Customer Service Center at 1.877.223.6866 or visit www.jcrinc.com.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Fri, 23 Apr 2010 05:29:41 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR to Host April 20-22&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Accreditation Summit</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/3/29/April-20-22-Accreditation-Summit/</link> 
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		(Oak Brook, Ill.—March 29, 2010) Health care leaders pursuing excellence can hear strategies, ideas and best practices to help their health care organizations achieve and sustain measurable improvements in quality, safety and performance at the Joint Commission Accreditation Summit, scheduled April 20-22, 2010.  Customized education tracks will be offered to meet the different needs of six health care accreditation settings—behavioral health care, ambulatory care (including office-based surgery and ambulatory surgery centers), hospitals, home care (including home medical equipment), laboratories and long term care.  The summit, in Lombard, Illinois is being presented by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, and will be held at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center. The summit is for individuals responsible for coordinating or implementing Joint Commission accreditation and standards compliance including professionals that work in ambulatory care, behavioral health care, home care, hospitals, laboratories, and long term care settings.The first day will begin with an optional Accreditation Summit Fair at The Joint Commission’s office in Oakbrook Terrace.  Those in attendance will have the opportunity to meet with Joint Commission staff.  Later the same day, at the Westin Lombard, Mark Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission, will present the keynote address, “Consistently Safe Patient Care: Making it Happen.”  Other presenters include Ann Scott Blouin, Ph.D., R.N., executive vice president of Accreditation and Certification Operations, The Joint Commission, who will speak about how the accreditation process is evolving to better meet the challenges of today’s environment, and Joel Yohai, M.D., M.S., senior vice president for Medical Affairs and chief medical officer, Catholic Health Services of Long Island, speaking about The Joint Commission’s tracer methodology across the continuum of care.  The second day of the summit will be devoted to the customized education tracks that correspond to the six health care accreditation settings. The education tracks will feature experts sharing information on the standards, chapter-by-chapter reviews, key updates and discussion on ways to meet the most challenging standards. Participants also will receive the 2010 Accreditation Standards, a soft cover, spiral-bound version of the comprehensive accreditation manual containing all standards, elements of performance, National Patient Safety Goals, and an abridged version of accreditation policies and procedures for their particular accreditation program. Cost of the summit is $795 per person for registration 30 days prior to the conference or $749 for teams of three or more participants from the same organization; the standard cost is $895 per person.  To register, please call JCR Customer Service at 1.877.223.6866.  Additional details and a conference agenda also are available online.###Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 17,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 9,500 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,300 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. In addition, The Joint Commission also provides certification of more than 1,000 disease-specific care programs, primary stroke centers, and health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.
		
				Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, is the official publisher and educator of The Joint Commission. JCR is an expert resource for health care organizations, providing consulting services, educational services and publications to assist in improving quality and safety and to help in meeting the accreditation standards of The Joint Commission. JCR provides consulting services independently from The Joint Commission and in a fully confidential manner. Please visit our web site at www.jcrinc.com. 
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					<pubDate>Tue, 30 Mar 2010 05:08:44 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Appoints John Babiarz, &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; J. Thornton Kirby to Board</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/3/24/JCR-Appoints-John-Babiarz-J-Thornton-Kirby-to-Board/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(Oak Brook, Ill.—March 24, 2010) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) today announced the appointments of health care executives John Babiarz and J. Thornton Kirby as members of its Board of Directors.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Babiarz is group president of ARAMARK Healthcare Management Services, overseeing clinical support services operations—including food, facility, clinical technology and senior living services—for 1,300 health care organizations and more than 15,000 employees throughout North America. Babiarz earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Albany and his Master of Public Administration from the University of Hartford. He is a member of the board of directors of the National Center for Healthcare Leadership.“John’s experience in international health care and in creating a culture of service excellence that supports the continuum of health care will be valuable assets on the JCR board,” says Karen H. Timmons, president and CEO, JCR.Kirby is president and CEO of the South Carolina Hospital Association, working closely with hospital leaders, policymakers and business leaders on issues related to the safety and quality of health care. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from the University of Virginia and his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Kirby is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.“Thornton knows the challenges inherent in achieving and sustaining quality breakthroughs in health care organizations, and this voice-of-the-customer perspective will be important as JCR makes decisions about consulting, education, publications and other services” says Timmons.Both Babiarz and Thornton will serve three-year terms on the JCR Board.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Thu, 25 Mar 2010 02:23:45 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>The Joint Commission Taps &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;  John Mache as CIO</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/3/17/The-Joint-Commission-Taps-John-Mache-as-CIO/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – March 17, 2010) The Joint Commission today announced the appointment of John C. Mache as chief information officer for the enterprise, which includes The Joint Commission, Joint Commission Resources and the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare.Mache brings to The Joint Commission enterprise 30 years of information management and information technology experience, most recently serving as global vice president of the multi-billion dollar office products supplier ACCO Brands Corporation. He will be responsible for securing, promoting, planning, implementing, monitoring and maintaining The Joint Commission’s information and technology assets. Mache will work closely with senior management, technical staff, end-user departments and external vendors, contractors and consultants.“John’s experience in information technology and business process re-engineering will be important in The Joint Commission’s efforts to use technology to create business value. I am pleased to know that his strong technology vision will help us realize our goals,” says Anne Marie Benedicto as executive vice president, support operations and chief of staff, The Joint Commission.Mache holds a master’s degree in finance and management policy and environment from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and economics from Marquette University.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:23:52 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>New Joint Commission Book &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Advises Parents on Their &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Child’s Health Care Safety </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/3/16/New-Joint-Commission-Book-Advises-Parents-on-Their-Child’s-Health-Care-Safety/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				Pediatrician answers common health-related questions from parents
		
		(Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.—March 16, 2010) For parents, choosing the best emergency department for their child or deciding whether to give their child medicine or what to do if their child is hospitalized can be difficult situations.  The new book, “The Smart Parent’s Guide to Getting Your Kids Through Checkups, Illnesses, and Accidents,” gives advice on these and many other important questions that parents frequently ask their pediatricians.The book, released today, was developed through a collaboration of The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR), The Joint Commission’s not-for-profit affiliate and official publisher, along with RealAge and its chief pediatric officer, Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg.  The book was published by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster.  This is The Joint Commission’s second book for health care consumers since the well-received publication of “YOU: The Smart Patient” in 2006.  The foreword for “The Smart Parent’s Guide” is written by Michael F. Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D, who collaborated with The Joint Commission on “YOU: The Smart Patient.“The author, pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg, a well-known parenting expert, offers advice for parents on raising healthy kids and getting through the times when they are not so healthy.  “Dr. Jen” is a practicing pediatrician in New York City, an assistant clinical professor in pediatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.  She is also the author of “Good Kids, Bad Habits.” “The Smart Parent’s Guide” offers guidance on making health care decisions so parents don’t feel overwhelmed by all of the advice available in today’s information-saturated Internet era, from deciding what kind and whether or not to give a child medication to dealing with a full-blown medical emergency.  The book gives easy-to-understand expert answers to commonly asked questions about medications, healthy diets, infection prevention, sleep habits, vaccinations and more.“We wrote this book with Dr. Jen because our organization’s vision is that all people should always experience the safest, highest quality, best-value health care,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission.  “As a father and grandfather, I know the challenges of parenting. “The Smart Parent’s Guide” is a wonderful resource for parents seeking advice about a child’s health care.  Whether the reader is a new parent or grandparent, they are all likely at some time or another to be faced with a difficult decision to make about their child or grandchild’s health care.”“JCR and The Joint Commission want consumers, and in this case the parents and guardians of children, to know how to be the best possible patient advocate for their child,” says Karen H. Timmons, M.A., M.M., president and CEO, JCR.  “Parents need to know what questions to ask their child’s health care provider, to be empowered to question anything they do not understand about the care their child is receiving, and to speak up if something does not seem right.  If parents can do that, then they’re also setting an example for their children.”
		“The Smart Parent’s Guide” includes recommendations to help parents:• Protect their child’s health—in the emergency department, pediatric unit, pharmacy, and doctor’s exam room, and at home;• Choose the right pediatrician, the right hospital (make sure it’s Joint Commission accredited!), and the right emergency department;• Ask smart questions to be involved and stay on top of their child’s care when they are at the pediatrician’s office due to an illness or for a checkup, at the emergency department, or admitted to the hospital; • Navigate the emergency department and ensure their child gets the best care in the timeliest way;• Navigate a hospital stay with their child; and• Deal with the health care system if their child has a chronic illness or special needs.  “The Smart Parent’s Guide” is available in most bookstores and on Amazon.com.  For free excerpts from the book and more information, visit the JCR web site at http://www.jcrinc.com/The-Smart-Parent-Guide/.
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					<pubDate>Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:44:25 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Introduces Safe Adoption of &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;  Technology Consulting</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/3/1/JCR-Introduces-Safe-Adoption-of-Technology-Consulting/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(Oak Brook, Ill.—March 1, 2010) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) today announced the launch of a new consulting service that will provide an objective, expert evaluation of technology with a patient safety focus.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.The new service, Safe Adoption of Technology, aims to support the highest level of patient safety as JCR assists both hospitals and technology vendors in safely implementing technology through the integration of patient safety, informatics and clinical care expertise. This consulting service is launching at a turning point for health information technology in the U.S.  Many health care organizations and doctors are taking advantage of nearly $30 billion in federal stimulus funding to convert from paper records to electronic medical record systems.An initial focus of the consulting service will be directed towards those technologies that support medication processes, and medication safety will be an essential objective.  Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) and electronic health record (EHR) technologies are important tools for data sharing and enhanced care, yet sometimes patient safety can be inadvertently compromised through inadequate functionality, misperceptions, gaps in training, and other issues.  “Careful attention must be paid to new technology’s impact on care delivery. Often, there are many competing priorities with technology implementation,” says Nanne Finis, executive director, Solutions Consulting, JCR. “JCR’s multidisciplinary consulting experts will offer essential safety perspectives and guidance during CPOE and EHR planning and implementation.”The key focus of the Safe Adoption of Technology service is on the convergence of technology and clinical processes to support optimal patient care.  Specifically, the services can be applied at three critical phases of technology adoption:• Planning and selection—this includes decisions about functionality, introducing new technology, retiring or modifying old systems, creating an implementation timeline, practical sequencing, and involving key stakeholders in the process.• Design/build/implementation—JCR’s consulting team assesses how the adoption plan is built, anticipates its impact throughout the organization, recommends safety enhancements, and highlights training needs. • Post implementation—after going live, there is still a need for troubleshooting, spotting unforeseen problems, creating medication management checklists for staff, and so forth.  For more information about JCR Safe Adoption of Technology consulting services, please call 630.268.7400 or e-mail Nanne Finis, nfinis@jcrinc.com.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:11:21 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Study Finds Differences Among &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Doctors, Risk Managers in Admitting Errors</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/2/18/Study-Finds-Differences-Among-Doctors-Risk-Managers-in-Admitting-Errors/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				Joint Commission Journal findings show need for collaboration to meet patient needs
				
				 (OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – February 18, 2010) Differences in attitudes among physicians and risk managers about revealing medical errors to patients may diminish the effectiveness of such disclosures, according to a new study published in the March 2010 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. The study, “Risk Managers, Physicians, and Disclosure of Harmful Medical Errors,” based on anonymous surveys of nearly 3,000 risk managers and roughly 1,300 physicians, showed that risk managers have more favorable attitudes about disclosing errors to patients compared with physicians.  Risk managers, however, were less supportive of providing a full apology.  Risk managers also expressed more favorable attitudes about the mechanisms at their hospitals or health care organizations to inform physicians about errors, but, like physicians, reported that there is much room for improvement in systems to report errors.The authors of the study urge closer collaboration between risk managers and physicians in the disclosure process. They also advise it’s important that hospital policies make clear who has final authority over whether and how disclosures to patients will take place. “Fulfilling patients’ expectations for full disclosure of medical errors remains a complicated process. Our data offer additional insight into the complexities of these conversations and reflect the evolving roles of stakeholders beyond the physicians involved in the error,” says lead author David J. Loren, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Pediatrics, at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.Rick Iedema, Ph.D., Director, Centre for Health Communication, at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, noted in an accompanying editorial, “Attitudes Towards Disclosure Need to Engage with Systems Thinking,” that the study suggests that professional attitudes toward disclosure communication—although encouraging in other respects—remain out of alignment with health care organizational learning about safety and systems thinking.  “Adopting a systems perspective means that health care professionals frame their responsibility not as being either technical or personal, but as holistic,” says Iedema. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, published monthly by Joint Commission Resources, features peer-reviewed research and case studies on improving quality and patient safety in health care organizations.  To subscribe to The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, please call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 800.746.6578, or visit www.jcrinc.com.
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					<pubDate>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 03:15:53 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR to Host April 8-9 Emergency &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Preparedness Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/2/11/JCR-to-Host-April-8-9-Emergency-Preparedness-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						Learn from the experts who develop and survey the standards
				
		
		
				(Oak Brook, Ill.—February 11, 2010) When disaster hits, will all the plans that health care organizations have in place really work?  The fact is, health care organizations can never be too prepared for emergencies.  The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources’ sixth annual emergency preparedness conference, “Emergency Preparedness Compliance 2010,” will help health care organizations turn concerns about staff readiness, patient surges and functioning without essential services into strategies for preparedness.  The April 8-9 conference, at the Omni Shoreham, in Washington, D.C., will feature proven emergency planning methodologies that are embedded in The Joint Commission standards as well as best practices shared by health care experts who have successfully managed catastrophic situations.Based on requests from emergency management professionals, this year’s event focuses on best practices for meeting and successfully maintaining compliance with The Joint Commission standards and the challenges related to emergency preparedness. The conference will feature three scenario workshops led by Joint Commission staff who will provide feedback on whether participants’ approaches meet accreditation standards for emergency preparedness.  An April 7 pre-conference session will focus solely on meeting Joint Commission standards.Expert faculty for the conference include a team from Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York City, who visited Haiti in January and performed 100 surgeries in eight days; New Orleans physician Anna Pou, who will explore the boundaries of accountability for physicians and nurses during disasters; and Guido Bertolaso, M.D., Italian minister of the National Civil Protection Department, who will share his experiences with the Abruzzo earthquake.  In addition, George Washington University’s Daniel Kaniewski and Washington Hospital Center’s Susan Eckert will use the 2009 Washington, D.C. rail crash as a prism to examine emergency response and successful health care and community planning.The conference is recommended for hospital and health system employees including: C-Suite executives and directors and managers of disaster planning, emergency preparedness, disaster medicine, patient safety, operations, risk management, security, infection control, community health, public health and supply chain and materials management.Cost for the conference has been held to 2008 prices—participants who register at least 30 days prior to the conference receive a $60 discount on the $749 cost per person. Organizations with three or more participants at the conference may register for $689 per person. The pre-conference is $319 per person before March 8, or $395. To register, please call JCR Customer Service at 1.877.223.6866. For those unable to attend, an on demand recording of the conference will be available. Additional details and a conference agenda are available online at  http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/2010-Annual-Emergency-Preparedness-Conference-Emergency-Preparedness-Compliance-2010/1969/
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					<pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:41:11 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Releases Book, Pediatric &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Patient Safety in the ED</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2010/2/4/JCR-Releases-Book-Pediatric-Patient-Safety-in-the-ED/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(Oak Brook, Ill.—February 4, 2010) Children who need treatment in the emergency department present special challenges for caregivers, who must recognize that these pediatric patients are different from adult patients in many more ways than just physical size. Pediatric Patient Safety in the Emergency Department, a new book from Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), edited by Steven E. Krug, M.D., F.A.A.P., past-chair of the AAP Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine, aims to help health care providers meet these challenges. The book includes contributions from experts in pediatric patient safety and pediatric emergency care from JCR and the AAP. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.The book offers strategies, case studies, examples and practical tools designed to help health care organizations improve safety in the high-risk, highly-complex world of pediatric emergency care. Pediatric Patient Safety in the Emergency Department and accompanying CD-ROM includes approaches to enhance communication, real-life examples, suggested checklists of types of child-size, child-safe medical instruments and numerous tools, checklists and forms that can be adapted for any organization.Pediatric Patient Safety in the Emergency Department  is available for $99 using order code PPSE08 by calling JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or visit www.jcrinc.com.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:14:30 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Reappoints Chair, &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Names Vice Chair of the Board</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/12/3/JCR-Reappoints-Chair-Names-Vice-Chair-of-the-Board/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		(Oak Brook, Ill.—December 3, 2009) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) today announces the reappointment of Jack Bailey as 2010 chair of its Board of Directors and has named Suet Wun Lim, M.D., as vice chair.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Bailey has served on the JCR Board of Directors since 2004. He became secretary of the JCR Board in 2006, was vice chair of the JCR Board for 2007 and 2008, and served as Board chair in 2009.  Bailey is senior vice president, Private & Public Institutional Customers for GlaxoSmithKline in North Carolina.“Jack has ably guided the JCR Board of Directors during a challenging period for all involved in health care. His leadership will be crucial in 2010 as JCR focuses on providing the most effective and the most efficient methods to foster safe and quality care to patients,” says Karen H. Timmons, president and CEO, JCR.Dr. Lim has been a member of The Joint Commission Board of Commissioners since 2004 and has served as vice chair and chair of JCR’s Globalization of Health Services Task Force since 2007. He is CEO of National Healthcare Group and Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore.
		 
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					<pubDate>Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:36:46 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Ambulatory Accreditation &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Compliance 2010: Keys to Success</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/10/19/Ambulatory-Accreditation-Compliance-2010-Keys-to-Success/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		14th Annual Conference on Patient Safety in Ambulatory Care Settings
		
				(Oak Brook, Ill. – October 19, 2009) Ambulatory care health care leaders will gather in Chicago November 3-4 for The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources 14th Annual Ambulatory Care Conference to discover strategies to enhance patient safety.  The program is sponsored by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.The Annual Ambulatory Care Conference – Ambulatory Accreditation Compliance 2010: Keys to Success, to be held at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, will provide accreditation related education from Joint Commission central office staff and surveyors as well as JCR practice experts. Also featured are sessions by national leaders and practitioners on current challenges facing ambulatory care organizations. Ann Scott Blouin, Ph.D., R.N., executive vice president, Accreditation and Certification Operations, The Joint Commission, will kick off the conference, and sessions will address key topics such using Lean Six Sigma methodologies for process improvement.A pre-conference seminar, 2010 Ambulatory Care Standards and Survey Process Update, will spotlight recent changes to the survey process as well as the standards themselves, with guidance for freestanding ambulatory care organizations on how to implement practices to enhance compliance. Cost of the conference is $729 per person; a discounted price of $595 per registrant is offered for teams of three or more. Cost of the pre-conference is $425 per registrant. To register for this program, please call JCR Customer Service at (877) 223-6866 or register online at the JCR website, http://www.jcrinc.com.
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					<pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:59:47 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Offers Live Video Streaming &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Conferences, Seminars on Demand </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/10/14/JCR-Offers-Live-Video-Streaming-Conferences-Seminars-on-Demand/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		(OAK BROOK , Ill. – October 14, 2009) Time and budget pressures can sometimes make attending conferences difficult. To ease these pressures while still providing valuable information and teaching to health care professionals Joint Commission Resources (JCR) now offers conferences and seminars via live video streaming as well as on demand over the Internet. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.The new conference and seminar options for health care professionals include some of JCR’s most popular education programs. The live video streaming option allows viewers to participate by submitting questions to presenters via e-mail. The on demand feature allows users to view a conference or seminar in its entirety or they may view one session at a time, as their schedule permits. These new learning options offer health care organizations an opportunity to educate teams of employees.“Live video streaming and conferences/seminars on demand provide the same quality learning experience for which JCR is known. And both options provide the knowledge health care professionals need, when they need it, with affordability and convenience,” says Pam Steinbach, executive director, Education, JCR.Upcoming live video streaming conferences and seminars include: • 2010 Home Care Accreditation Essentials - November  2–3• 2010 Home Care Executive Briefings - November 4• 2010 Credentialing, Privileging and Other Requirements - November 5–6On demand conferences and seminars now available include: • 2010 Hospital Update • 2010 Hospital Executive Briefings • 2010 Home Care Primer (available November 10)• 2010 Home Care Accreditation Essentials (available November 10)• 2010 Home Care Executive Briefings  (available November 10)• 2010 Credentialing, Privileging and Other Requirements (available November 10)• 2010 Hospital Accreditation Essentials (available in December)
		In January 2010, the following on demand conferences will be available: • 2010 National Patient Safety Goals • 2010 Infection, Prevention and Control Standards • 2010 Medication Standards • 2010 Physical Environment Standards• 2010 Hospital Primer
		For the most current listing of live video streaming programs and conferences and seminars on demand, please visit the JCR Web site at http://www.jcrinc.com/Virtual-Events-Home/.
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					<pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:10:30 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Annual Behavioral Health Care &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Conference November 17-18</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/10/8/Annual-Behavioral-Health-Care-Conference-November-17-18/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		Learn strategies that provide ‘Hope in Uncertain Times’
		(Oak Brook, Ill. – October 8, 2009) Health care reform is at the forefront of the national health care agenda.  How will the changes impact behavioral health care services?  The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) will offer behavioral health care providers new strategies to address these challenges during the 6th Annual Behavioral Health Care Conference, “Hope in Uncertain Times” to be held November 17-18 at the Westin Chicago River North in Chicago. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Although the science of mental illness has expanded exponentially over the last 20 years and an evidence-based approach to the prevention, early interventional management and promotion of well-being of those in need of behavioral health care has become standard, providers are grappling with understanding what will be the model of care for the 21st century. The conference will provide participants with in-depth information on the current state of behavioral health care services. A November 16 pre-conference, Behavioral Health Care 2010 Standards and Survey Process Update, will explore new standards and recent changes to the survey process. Cost of the conference is $729 per registrant, or $629 for registration before October 17; teams of three or more participants from the same organization may register for $595 per person. Cost of the pre-conference is $425 per person, or $349 for registration by October 16. To register, please call customer service at (877) 223-6866, or visit the JCR website at http://ww.jcrinc.com. 
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					<pubDate>Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:31:19 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Joint Commission Resources and &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; MediRegs&#174; Introduce E-dition &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Compliance Monitor</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/10/6/Joint-Commission-Resources-and-MediRegs®-Introduce-E-dition-Compliance-Monitor/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		(OAK BROOK, Ill. – October 6, 2009) Hospital risk managers, accreditation specialists and compliance officers spend precious time cross-referencing, validating and keeping up to date on federal and state regulations and Joint Commission requirements. Not keeping current can have serious patient safety and financial consequences. The E-dition Compliance Monitor, powered by Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and MediRegs®, part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, offers a one-of-a-kind, Web-based alternative—a daily updated, pre-selected library of industry regulations. With the E-dition Compliance Monitor, hospital leaders and staff can stay on top of requirements from The Joint Commission and regulatory bodies such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and state regulators.JCR is a non-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission. MediRegs® provides integrated health care compliance content and software solutions for professionals in health care, higher education and life sciences.E-dition Compliance Monitor is designed to improve performance, better manage risk and save time by providing hospitals with a single viewpoint to essential information necessary to maintain continuous compliance with standards and regulations. “Many factors go into providing safe patient care, and the E-dition Compliance Monitor is powerful one-stop shopping across many sources of compliance, can streamline the compliance process, and greatly enhance how that is accomplished,” says Karen H. Timmons, president and CEO, JCR.  “The combined efforts of JCR and MediRegs have produced a tool that holds the potential to save valuable resources in the patient care setting.”Specifically, the E-dition Compliance Monitor allows users to:• Eliminate the time and effort spent searching manuals or Internet sites.• Link to relevant regulatory content from within The Joint Commission E-dition tools - the electronic manual with full search capability and filter features.• See requirements by applicable federal and state oversight bodies organized by Joint Commission chapter.• Receive automated e-mail alerts regarding changes from the regulatory bodies selected by the user.“We are pleased to be collaborating with JCR to offer the innovative E-dition Compliance Monitor,” says Steve Lefar, MediRegs General Manager. “Quality of care, risk management and compliance are becoming increasingly intertwined via regulation, enforcement and patient safety initiatives. Providing this resource for hospitals, vendors and other industry participants to ease the burden out of piecing it all together is one way we are working to improve hospital performance and allow our customers to focus on taking care of patients.”E-dition Compliance Monitor is available through JCR or MediRegs. To contact JCR for more information, please call JCR Customer Service at 1-877-223-6866 or visit www.jcrinc.com. To contact MediRegs, please call 1-800-808-6800 or visit www.mediregs.com.
		
				 
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					<pubDate>Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:18:17 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title> “Being Prepared for the H1N1 &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Pandemic”: Free JCR Videoconference &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Highlights What Hospitals Need to Know</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/9/23/“Being-Prepared-for-the-H1N1-Pandemic”-Free-JCR-Videoconference-Highlights-What-Hospitals-Need-to-Know/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(OAK BROOK, Ill. – September 17, 2009)  Hospitals and communities across the country are preparing to battle the H1N1 Flu this fall.  To help in this effort, Joint Commission Resources Quality and Safety Network (JCRQSN), has developed an educational videoconference and webinar about H1N1 for hospitals. JCRQSN is a satellite video and Web-based educational service available by subscription to health care organizations. This program is being offered free to hospitals.“Being Prepared for the H1N1 Pandemic,” will be broadcast on September 24. The program uses the real world experience of one hospital and is designed to help health care organizations be ready for what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns is the possibility of increased hospitalizations and deaths this fall and winter during the traditional influenza season.This 60-minute program by JCR, a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, will examine the successful response of Long Island Jewish Medical Center to the May influx of the H1N1 virus in New York.  Both the hospital’s experience and program faculty will highlight what hospitals need to know to effectively prepare for an influx of H1N1 patients and patients who think they may have the virus.  The program will also include a mock survey that shows how a hospital describes its response plans for an influx of infectious patients as part of The Joint Commission system tracer.Expert presenters include Lewis Soloff, M.D., Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Program, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Joint Commission Surveyor, and Tom Sizemore III, M.D., principal deputy director, Office of Preparedness & Emergency Operations, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.For more information or to register, please call JCRQSN Customer Service at 1-800-538-6264 or visit www.jcrqsn.com to schedule online. ]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:23:22 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>More Than 1.1 Million Health Care Workers&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Vaccinated for Seasonal Flu in 2008&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;  as Part of The FLU VACCINATION CHALLENGE </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/8/17/flu-vaccination-challenge/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		Health Care Worker Vaccination Rates Still Major Barrier to Decreasing Transmission of Flu to Patients 
		[Oak Brook, Ill. -- August 18, 2009] – Joint Commission Resources (JCR) today announced the results of the first-ever Flu Vaccination Challenge, a program launched just prior to the 2008/2009 flu season to increase flu vaccination among health care workers.  During the program’s inaugural year, JCR challenged hospitals across the country to achieve a seasonal flu vaccination rate of 43 percent or higher among their staff.  The goal was based on results from a 2005/2006 national survey of health care worker seasonal flu vaccination rates. 
		With help from the Flu Vaccination Challenge, about 1.1 million health care workers were vaccinated against the seasonal flu, and 94 percent of participating hospitals met “the Challenge.”   According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), all health care workers should be vaccinated to help decrease the spread of seasonal flu to patients, which can lead to serious health risks and even death.  However, in recent years, flu vaccination rates among health care workers have continued to remain low. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
		
				Flu Vaccination Challenge Results: 2008/2009 Flu SeasonMore than 1,700 hospitals – including at least one hospital from each of the 50 states – participated in the Flu Vaccination Challenge.  Approximately 78 percent of participating hospitals increased their health care workers’ flu vaccination rate from the previous year.  On average, the total number of health care workers vaccinated against seasonal flu among participating hospitals increased by 14 percent.†
		“We are thrilled with the level of participation and enthusiasm from the hundreds of hospitals across the country that participated in ‘the Challenge’; however, we believe organizations can do better,” said Barbara M. Soule, R.N., M.P.A., C.I.C., practice leader, Infection Prevention and Control Services, JCR. “Despite the encouraging results, nearly 40 percent of health care workers among the participating hospitals were not vaccinated and remained unprotected against the flu. Influenza occurs in health care settings and studies have shown that health care workers are a potential source of these infections.” 
		“All individuals who work in a health care facility should be vaccinated against the flu,” said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman, Department of Preventive Medicine, and professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.  “When we talk about whom to vaccinate, we have to change our mindset.  Vaccination shouldn’t be limited to doctors and nurses, it should be encouraged for everyone who works in a health care facility.  The flu is a highly contagious disease; therefore if you work in a health care setting, you may be needlessly putting patients at risk if you are not vaccinated against this preventable disease.”
		The Joint Commission defines hospital workers as all people who provide care, treatment and services in the health care organization, including those receiving pay, volunteers and health profession students.  
		
				Program Goals: 2009/2010 Flu SeasonJCR is “raising the bar” and introducing a tiered approach to setting this year’s seasonal flu vaccination goals.  Health care facilities will be challenged to reach a 65, 75 or 90 percent vaccination rate.  The goals were determined by evaluating last year’s results and recognizing that most participating hospitals surpassed the national flu vaccination rate.  The tiered approach encourages health care facilities to strive for a better vaccination rate than achieved the previous year.  Those that do will be recognized by JCR for their dedication to keeping their employees healthy and helping to protect their patients.  JCR is also broadening “the Challenge” to include health care workers in ambulatory and long-term care facilities, emphasizing the importance of flu vaccination and patient safety beyond the hospital setting.   
		Soule continued, “This flu season, we are encouraging hospitals to participate in ‘the Challenge’, leading to an increased flu vaccination rate among health care workers nationwide.  JCR is committed to providing participants with additional tools and resources to help achieve even greater success.”
		Efforts to increase vaccination coverage among health care workers are supported by The Joint Commission.   The Joint Commission requires accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals and long term care organizations to offer the flu vaccine annually on site to staff and licensed independent practitioners.  JCR is committed to continuously improving the safety and quality of care in hospitals.  The Flu Vaccination Challenge is one way to contribute to this goal by increasing vaccination rates among health care workers. Resources for participants in “the Challenge” include a complimentary seasonal influenza monograph released in June by The Joint Commission, a myths and facts fact sheet, virtual poster presentations and audioconference downloads as well as a software program for participants to easily track employee flu vaccination rates at their organization.
		The 2009 Flu Vaccination Challenge begins today and will continue through the flu season until March 2010.  For additional information regarding how health care facilities can help improve their flu vaccination rates, please visit www.FluVaccinationChallenge.com.
		The focus of the Flu Vaccination Challenge is on seasonal flu, which is a contagious and potentially deadly infection, affecting thousands of people each year.  For questions related to the H1N1 virus, please refer to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.CDC.gov.  
		
				About The FluThe flu is a contagious and potentially deadly infection.   Flu viruses are mainly spread from person to person via droplets from coughing or sneezing. Transmission may also occur through direct or indirect contact, such as when touching something already laden with the flu virus, then touching the eyes, nose or mouth. 
		Every year in the U.S., on average, up to 20 percent of the population is infected with the flu.  On average, more than 200,000 hospitalizations occurred each year from 1979 to 2001 as a result of flu and its complications.  In addition, on average, approximately 36,000 persons died each year from 1990-1999 from the flu and its related complications; more than 90 percent of these deaths occurred among persons 65 years of age or older.
		According to the CDC, annual flu vaccination is the most effective method for preventing flu virus infection and its complications.  The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends an annual flu vaccination for a number of groups, including adults at high-risk of complications from the flu and those who are in contact with them, including health care workers.
		
				About Joint Commission ResourcesJoint Commission Resources, Inc. (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, has been designated by The Joint Commission to publish publications and multimedia products.  JCR reproduces and distributes these materials under license from The Joint Commission.  JCR educational programs and publications support the accreditation activities of The Joint Commission, but are separate functions.  Attendees at JCR educational programs and purchasers of JCR publications receive no special consideration or treatment in, or confidential information about, the accreditation process. Learn more about Joint Commission Resources at www.jcrinc.com.
		Joint Commission Resources received funding and other support from GlaxoSmithKline for the Flu Vaccination Challenge initiative.
		
				Contact:  Elizabeth ZhaniJoint Commission Resources630-792-5914
		Christie CorbettCohn & Wolfe     212-537-8178 
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					<pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:08:52 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR and The Joint Commission &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; to Host 23rd Annual Conference </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/7/27/JCR-and-The-Joint-Commission-to-Host-23rd-Annual-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(OAK BROOK, Ill. – July 27, 2009) Health care leaders focused on changing their organization’s approach to patient safety and quality will have an opportunity to learn from their peers at The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources’  “2009 Annual Conference on Quality and Patient Safety: Explore, Enhance, and Energize – Leadership for the Future.” The conference, September 14 to 16, in Rosemont, Ill., is supported by the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians.  Joint Commission Resources (JCR) is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.For the first time, the conference will feature four simultaneous education tracks led by presenters who have first-hand experience with the issues they are discussing.  The presenters were chosen based upon their abstract submissions.  The education tracks are: Leadership, Patient/Family Centered Care, Quality/Patient Safety, and Process Improvement.This conference is oriented towards patient safety officers, hospital administrators, quality improvement professionals and board leaders.  At the conference, attendees will receive take-home tools including many of the forms, flow-charts, reading lists and other resources needed to launch a quality improvement project. This year’s keynote speaker is Robert M. Wachter, M.D., professor and associate chairman, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.  Dr. Wachter will speak about the efforts to prevent medical mistakes and what is working and not working a decade after the Institute of Medicine’s report on medical error – “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System.” Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear from Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission, and Ann Scott Blouin, Ph.D., R.N., executive vice president, Division of Accreditation and Certification Operations, The Joint Commission.Jeffrey C. Bauer, Ph.D., partner, Management Consulting – Future Practice, ACS Healthcare Solutions, a medical economist and health futurist, will provide a multi-faceted overview of technology and explore how each type of technology can be optimally used to produce desired levels of improvement in health care.  Bauer will also present specific guidelines for ensuring quality in an efficient and effective manner, and will introduce policy prescriptions for successful reform of health care delivery systems that are consistent with national goals.    The conference will be held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Ill.  This year’s conference will also offer for the first time an exhibit hall for networking and further educational opportunities. Accommodations will be at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. Continuing education credit hours are offered.The conference is $995 per person or $849 for registration 30 days prior to the conference.  A discounted rate of $829 per person is offered for teams of three or more.  To register, please call JCR Customer Service at 1.877.223.6866.  The registration code is 09065.  Additional details and a conference agenda also are available online at http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/Annual-Conference-on-Quality-and-Safety/1517/.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:35:56 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Call for Presentations for 2010 Infection Prevention &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; and Control Conference </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/7/22/Call-for-Presentations-for-2010-Infection-Prevention-and-Control-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(Oak Brook, Ill.—July 22, 2009) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) are now accepting proposals for presentations for the 2010 Annual Infection Prevention and Control Conference.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Proposals for presentations at the fall 2010 conference in Chicago, Ill., should include practitioner-based, solutions-oriented best practices.  The focus of the presentation should be on new processes, technologies, techniques and/or tools, and creative and innovative ideas used within a health care setting. Presentations should highlight practices that have achieved sustained improvements in infection control and prevention in the areas of infection control planning, infection control implementation and infection control evaluation. All proposals should be submitted for consideration by October 31, 2009.Presentation proposals must be submitted via an online registration form available at www.jcrinc.com/callforpresentations2010/.  Questions may be submitted to: ic2010@jcrinc.com.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:59:41 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title> Eleven JCR Books Listed in Doody’s Core Titles 2009</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/7/16/Eleven-JCR-Books-Listed-in-Doody’s-Core-Titles-2009/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		(Oak Brook, Ill.—July 16, 2009)  Eleven books published by Joint Commission Resources (JCR) are listed in “Doody’s Core Titles in Health Sciences 2009.”  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.“Doody’s Core Titles in Health Sciences” are selected each year by nearly 200 content specialists and librarians.  The Doody’s list helps medical, nursing and allied health librarians around the world make the book-buying decisions for their libraries. The list suggests core titles that represent essential knowledge needed by professionals or students in a given discipline.JCR titles listed as “Doody’s Core Titles in Health Sciences 2009” are:• “The APIC/JCAHO Infection Control Workbook,” 1st edition, edited by Arias and Soule• “Patients as Partners: How to Involve Patients and Families in Their Own Care”• “Tools for Performance Measurement in Health Care: A Quick Reference Guide,” 2nd edition• “Meeting the Joint Commission’s Infection Prevention and Control Requirements,” 2nd edition• “Infection Control Issues in the Environment of Care,” 1st edition• “Staff Education Tools for the 2009 National Patient Safety Goals”• “2009 Standards for Ambulatory Care”• “2009 Standards for Long Term Care”• “Managing Performance Measurement Data in Health Care,” 2nd edition• “A Practical Guide to Documentation in Behavioral Healthcare,” 3rd edition• “Best Practices in Infection Control: An International Handbook,” edited by Soule and Memish
		
				To order, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or visit www.jcrinc.com.
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					<pubDate>Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:52:26 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Call for Presentations for 2010 Annual Conference &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; on Quality and Patient Safety</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/7/15/Call-for-Presentations-for-2010-Annual-Conference-on-Quality-and-Patient-Safety/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(Oak Brook, Ill. — July 15, 2009) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources are now accepting proposals for presentations for the 2010 Annual Conference on Quality and Patient Safety.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Presentations for conference June 23 to 25, 2010, in Chicago, Ill., should focus on practitioner-based, solutions-oriented improvements and success stories. The focus of the presentation should include new processes, technologies, techniques and/or tools, and creative and innovative ideas on quality and safety that have achieved sustained improvement.  All proposals should be submitted for consideration by October 1, 2009.Presentation proposals must be submitted via online registration available at www.jcrinc.com/callforpresentations2010/.  Questions may be e-mailed to annualconf2010@jcrinc.com.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:48:36 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Call for Presentations for 2010 Annual Behavioral Health Care Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/7/7/Call-for-Presentations-for-2010-Annual-Behavioral-Health-Care-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(Oak Brook, Ill.—July 7, 2009) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) are now accepting proposals for presentations for the 2010 Annual Behavioral Health Care Conference.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Presentations at the fall 2010 conference in Chicago, Ill., should focus on new processes, technologies, techniques and/or tools, and creative and innovative ideas used in the behavioral health care setting that have achieved sustained improvements in the behavioral health care setting. All proposals should be submitted for consideration by December 1, 2009.Presentation proposals must be submitted via an online registration form available at www.jcrinc.com/callforpresentations2010/.  Questions may be e-mailed to behavioralconf2010@jcrinc.com. ]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:00:16 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Call for Presentations for 2010 Annual Ambulatory Care Conference </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/7/7/Call-for-Presentations-for-2010-Annual-Ambulatory-Care-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(Oak Brook, Ill.—July 7, 2009) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) are now accepting proposals for presentations for the 2010 Annual Ambulatory Care Conference.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Presentations at the fall 2010 conference in Chicago, Ill., should focus on practitioner-based, solutions-oriented improvements. The focus of the presentation should be new processes, technologies, techniques and/or tools, and creative and innovative ideas that have achieved sustained improvement within the ambulatory care setting. All proposals should be submitted for consideration by December 1, 2009.Presentation proposals must be submitted via an online registration form available at www.jcrinc.com/callforpresentations2010/. Questions may be submitted to ambulatoryconf2010@jcrinc.com.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:57:30 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Call for Presentations for 2010 Emergency Preparedness Conference </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/7/7/Call-for-Presentations-for-2010-Emergency-Preparedness-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(Oak Brook, Ill.—July 7, 2009) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources are now accepting proposals for presentations for the 2010 Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Presentations at the spring 2010 conference in Washington, D.C., should focus on practitioner-based, change-focused practices. The focus of the presentation should include new processes, technologies, techniques and/or tools, and creative and innovative ideas used for emergency preparedness. The presentation should demonstrate a successful approach to at least one of the four phases of emergency preparedness (mitigation, preparation, response and recovery), and relate to the Joint Commission's standards. Presentation proposals must be submitted via an online registration form available at www.jcrinc.com/callforpresentations2010/. The deadline for submission is August 15, 2009.  Questions may be e-mailed to EPrep2010@jcrinc.com.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:54:11 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Releases Free MDRO Toolkit to Combat Antibiotic &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Resistance</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/6/12/JCR-Releases-Free-MDRO-Toolkit-to-Combat-Antibiotic-Resistance/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		The Toolkit will be Featured at the Annual Infection Control Conference 
		(OAK BROOK, Ill. – June 12, 2009) The spread of multi drug-resistant organisms in health care carries vast clinical, economic and patient safety consequences.  Today, Joint Commission Resources (JCR) is providing guidance to health care organizations with a free toolkit, “What Every Health Care Executive Should Know: The Cost of Antibiotic Resistance.”  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  The toolkit, produced by JCR and funded in part by Ortho-McNeil, a division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., will be featured in a session to be presented at the JCR and Joint Commission “2009 Annual Infection Control Conference: Mastering Powerful and Practical Infection Prevention Strategies,” August 21-22, in Arlington Va., by Barbara M. Soule, R.N., M.P.A., C.I.C., practice leader, Infection Prevention and Control Services, JCR.  Soule will discuss how C-suite executives can implement a comprehensive program to reduce antibiotic resistance.  The program is for heath care organizations of all sizes and would also be beneficial for epidemiologists and infection control preventionists working on similar programs within a health care organization.  The toolkit is now available at http://www.jcrinc.com/MDRO-Toolkit/ .  Hard copies of the toolkit will be distributed at the Infection Control Conference.“Organization leaders are eager to learn new ways to curb infections in their facilities to promote patient safety and reduce associated costs,” says Soule. “Often, these leaders face challenges. We will demonstrate at the seminar how to gain buy-in and support from the board and staff in implementing a comprehensive program.”The Infection Control Conference, to be held at the Marriott Crystal Gateway, will unveil the newest technologies and processes for controlling and preventing infection.  In addition to the MDRO toolkit, attendees will receive a CD-ROM with solutions from each presenter for creating and sustaining infection control practices and improved outcomes in a health care organization. In addition to presenting the toolkit, Soule will moderate a discussion on “Navigating the Infection Prevention and Control Landscape.” Distinguished panelists joining the discussion are: • P.J. Brennan, M.D., chair, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Health Care Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee; • Thomas Valuck, M.D., J.D., medical officer and senior adviser, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Center for Medicare Management; • Don Wright, M.D., M.P.H., principal deputy assistant secretary of health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; • Rosemary K. Sokas, M.D., M.O.H., F.A.C.O.E.M., director, Office of Occupational Medicine, Occupational Safety and Health Administration; and • Margaret VanAmringe, vice president, Public Policy and Government Relations, The Joint Commission. The “Annual Infection Control Conference Pre-Conference: The Joint Commission 2010 Infection Prevention and Control Standards,” August 20, held at the same location, will focus on evaluating an organization’s existing infection control program, and developing and implementing a new or updated program based on the revised 2010 Joint Commission Infection Prevention and Control standards and expanded National Patient Safety Goals.  Soule, and Louise Kuhny, R.N., M.P.H., M.B.A., C.I.C., senior associate director, Standards Interpretation, The Joint Commission, are presenters at this event.  The pre-conference is recommended for those new to infection prevention and control or those wanting to improve their existing program according to the revised 2010 Joint Commission standards.The conference is $749 per person or $695 for registration prior to July 21.  The pre-conference is $495 per person or $395 for registration prior to July 20.  To register, call JCR Customer Service at 1.877.223.6866.  When registering for the main conference use code 09064, and for the pre-conference use code 09063.  Additional details and an agenda for the main conference are available online at http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/Annual-Infection-Control-Conference/1516/ and for the preconference at http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/Infection-Control-Conference-Pre-Conference/1515/.
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					<pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:29:26 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR and The Joint Commission to Host Pediatric &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Safety Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/6/2/JCR-and-The-Joint-Commission-to-Host-Pediatric-Safety-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		(OAK BROOK, Ill. – June 2, 2009) Children are especially vulnerable in the hospital and they are the population at highest risk of a medication error, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Meeting their needs in this environment can be especially challenging. The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) “Pediatric Conference: Safe Care, Quality Care, We Care” will help health care organizations review current pediatric emergency and perioperative services as benchmarks to improve their organizational approaches.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.The keynote speaker at the conference will be Jane L. Holl, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor in pediatrics and preventive medicine, and Interim Director of the Institute for Healthcare Studies, both at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill. Holl is also medical director for Patient Safety at Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Ill. Dr. Holl will discuss the unique patient safety risks in pediatric health care; organizational approaches to and challenges in patient safety for pediatric health care. She will also provide illustrations of safety and quality process improvement initiatives in pediatric health care. The July 22-23, 2009 conference will be held at The Joint Commission’s Dennis S. O’Leary Conference Center, in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.Conference workshops will focus on critical issues such as:• Pediatric medication initiatives that increase safety; • Strategies to decrease hospital-acquired infections in children;• Methods to improve the environment of care for children;• Behavioral health care services for children; • Family- and patient-centered care;• Emergency department treatment of children for trauma or other conditions;• Perioperative services for pediatric patients; and• The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals as special considerations for children.
		This conference is targeted to all health care providers who serve children, whether in general or pediatric specialty hospitals and including nurses, physicians, pharmacists and physicians assistants.Continuing education credits are available. The conference is $749 per person or $649 for registration 30 days prior to the conference. To register, please call JCR Customer Service at 1.877.223.6866. The registration code is 09062.  Additional details and a conference agenda also are available online at http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/Pediatric-Conference/1514/.
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					<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:45:35 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Sponsors June 11-12 Suicide Prevention &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/5/21/JCR-Sponsors-June-11-12-Suicide-Prevention-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		Focus Includes System-wide Risk Management Strategies
		((OAK BROOK , Ill. – May 21, 2009) The rate of suicide in the United States has increased for the first time in a decade, according to a report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Injury Research and Policy.  Joint Commission Resources' (JCR) “Suicide Prevention Conference: Care to Listen, Listen to Care” is designed to help health care organizations develop system-wide risk management strategies to prevent suicide.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  The June 11-12 conference in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., will be held at The Joint Commission’s Dennis S. O’Leary Conference Center. Among the topics to be addressed at the conference is The Joint Commission’s 2009 National Patient Safety Goal 15A, which requires organizations to identify patients at risk for suicide.  The Joint Commission also lists suicide as a sentinel event, an unexpected occurrence involving death or permanent loss of function.  Nearly 13 percent of all sentinel events in The Joint Commission’s Sentinel Event Database are related to suicide, with more than 70 such events reviewed by The Joint Commission in 2007. Paul LeBuffe, director, Institute of Clinical Training and Research of the Devereux Foundation and master trainer, QPR Institute, will be the keynote speaker for the conference.  Jeffery Young, M.D., medical director, Regional Adult Behavioral Health Services, Providence Health, Portland, Ore., will discuss “Patients at Risk of Suicide: Documenting the Suicide Risk Assessment and Treatment Plan.”  Jerry Reed, Ph.D., M.S.W., director, Center for the Study and Prevention of Injury, Violence, and Suicide; and director, Suicide Prevention Resource Center, Education Development Center, Inc., Washington, D.C., will discuss “Suicide among Older Adults.”  Additional conference topics will include helping friends and families who have lost a loved one to suicide, veterans at risk for suicide, suicide among the chronically ill, and suicide and youth.  Representatives from the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, Illinois Chapter; The ALS Association-Greater Chicago Chapter, Consortium of MS Associations, and the International Organization of MS Nurses, also will discuss suicide as it relates to those with chronic, debilitating or terminal illness.The target audience for this conference is professionals who treat behavioral health problems in a variety of settings including free-standing community-based health care organizations and hospitals including psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, drug and alcohol counselors, school counselors and direct care staff.  Continuing education credits are offered. Materials for attendees will include tools, assessments, guidelines, and resource lists.The conference is $795 per person or $695 for registration prior to May 27.  To register, call JCR Customer Service at 1.877.223.6866.  When registering use code 09061. Additional details and a conference agenda also are available online at http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/Suicide-Prevention-Conference/1513/.
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					<pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2009 16:07:54 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Symposium Highlights Perioperative &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Care and Safety</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/4/16/Symposium-Highlights-Perioperative-Care-and-Safety/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
				
				Learn How Teamwork and Improved Communication Can Improve Patient Outcomes
				
				
		
		(Oak Brook, Ill.—April 16, 2009) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and the Council on Surgical and Perioperative Safety (CSPS) are hosting the second national Perioperative Safety Symposium: Improving, Enhancing & Sustaining Positive Patient Outcomes, May 8-9, 2009 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, Chicago, Ill. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.The symposium will explore the rules, regulations, protocols and processes that must be in place in the operating room and respected by all surgical team members to ensure a safe environment.  The opening session will focus on the prevention of violence in the operating room, including threats, intimidation, physical or verbal attacks, property damage and sexual harassment.  A team from CSPS will provide a multimedia presentation and lead a discussion and interactive exercise on ways to improve team dynamics in the operating room to prevent workplace violence. Education tracks include Infection Control; Utilization of Hand-offs in Perioperative Care; and Surgical Risks. Sessions include Joseph Perz, Ph.D., acting prevention team leader, Division of Health Care Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who will discuss the agency’s perspective on blood borne pathogens; a panel from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who were involved in a recent incident of wrong site surgery will discuss their experience and what they have done to prevent a recurrence; Daniel J. Sessler, M.D., professor and chair, Department of Outcomes Research, The Cleveland Clinic, will discuss the impact of temperature, oxygen, glucose and other non-pharmacological agents on surgical site infections; Kelly Fugate, N.D., R.N., associate project director, specialist, Division of Standards and Survey Methods, The Joint Commission, will discuss strategies to prevent surgical site infections from the Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals; and Chuck Kennedy, vice president of Covidien, who will discuss the role of health care vendors in the operating room.  This conference is designed for those who provide care and services within the surgical area including surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, peri-anesthesia and peri-operative nurses, surgical physicians’ assistants, surgical technologists and pharmacists.  The cost is $849 per person.  Teams of three or more receive a discounted price of $649 per person.  To register, please call Customer Service at (877) 223-6866 or visit http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/Perioperative-Safety-Symposium/1512/
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					<pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:39:23 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR and Hill-Rom Name First &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Nurse Scholar-in-Residence</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/4/15/JCR-and-Hill-Rom-Name-First-Nurse-Scholar-in-Residence/</link> 
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				Irene M. Jankowski of Beth Israel Medical Center to lead efforts to develop tools and insights into the prevention of pressure ulcers
				
				
		
		(OAK BROOK, Ill. and BATESVILLE, Ind. – April 15, 2009) Nurse practitioner Irene M. Jankowski, A.P.R.N., B.C., M.S.N, C.W.O.C.N., of Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, New York, has been named the first Nurse Safety Scholar-in-Residence, a role launched this year by Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and Hill-Rom (NYSE:HRC). JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission. Hill-Rom is a global medical technology company.Recognizing the important role that nurses play in translating evidence-based findings into excellent care at the patient’s bedside, the Nurse Safety Scholar-in-Residence program focuses initially on developing tools and best practices to maintain skin integrity and to prevent pressure ulcers. An estimated 2.5 million patients are treated annually for pressure ulcers in acute care facilities in the United States, according to studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003 and 2006.  A December 2008 report by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) states that in 2006 there were 503,000 hospital stays with pressure ulcers noted as a diagnosis, nearly an 80 percent increase since 1993. Lengths of stay, discharges to long term care settings, average patient age, and mortality were all higher in patients with pressure ulcers than in those without. Pressure ulcers are among the preventable conditions and events on Medicare’s “no pay” list. Jankowski is a certified wound, ostomy and continence specialist who has published and presented widely on interventions to prevent pressure ulcers. She earned a master’s degree in nursing from Lehman College of the City, University of New York and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the State University of New York, New Paltz.“Irene is a proven nurse leader whose front-line experience will be valuable in developing and sharing innovative solutions to prevent pressure ulcers,” says Nanne Finis, R.N., M.S., executive director, Solutions Services, JCR.“We are excited to see this program move forward with the naming of our first scholar. At Hill-Rom, we strive to use our resources in ways that make a difference every day in the lives of patients and their caregivers and this type of program is a perfect fit for us,” says Melissa Fitzpatrick, R.N., M.S.N., F.A.A.N., vice president and chief clinical officer, Hill-Rom. “This collaborative effort with JCR in this important research is one key way to support the discovery of new solutions to truly enhance the safety and ultimate positive outcomes for patients.” Jankowski will serve a 12-month appointment as Patient Safety Nurse Scholar-in-Residence, working closely with JCR and Hill-Rom experts to achieve the goals of the program:   • To foster the professional development of expert nurse clinicians and scholars to become translators of evidence into practice;• To identify best practice processes and technology associated with providing safe care for specific clinical problems; and• To establish hospital-based collaborative projects focused on clinical challenges and adverse events, initially relating to skin care.For more information about the program, please visit http://www.jcrinc.com/JCR-Hill-Rom-Nurse-Scholar/. The site will be updated regularly as Jankowski chronicles her work throughout the scholarship period.
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					<pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:08:56 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Audio Series to Provide&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Medication Management Strategies</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/4/14/JCR-Audio-Series-to-Provide-Medication-Management-Strategies/</link> 
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		(Oak Brook, Ill.—April 14, 2009) A 2006 Institute of Medicine report showed that medication errors are among the most common medical errors, harming at least 1.5 million people annually and costing billions of dollars.  Many of these errors are preventable through comprehensive medication management strategies, which is the focus of a five-part audioconference series presented by Joint Commission Resources (JCR). JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission. The intended audience for this audioconference subscription series includes pharmacists, pharmacy directors, quality improvement professionals, patient safety officers, risk managers, accreditation managers, nurse leaders and physician leaders.
		Sessions will be held in April and May on the following topics:April 21—Implementation of NPSG 3E Across a Health Care SystemThe first in a five-part series focused on medication management and safety, Robert P. Sobolik, R.P.H., a pharmacy management and regulatory compliance consultant and prior quality coordinator for McKesson Medication Management, and his pharmacy management team will lead the discussion on implementing a process to systematically standardize your approach to care of patients receiving anticoagulant therapy.  Via quarterly quality assessments (QA) and a detailed compliance tracking system, McKesson has not experienced a sentinel event related to anticoagulation therapy across 90 sites in the past four years.  They have further implemented an Anticoagulation Core Safety Initiative (CSI) which consists of educational material for the staff, mandatory standards, and other programs with required implementation dates, policies and toolkits to ensure a systematic approach to anticoagulation therapy safety. When registering use code DEP737.
		April 28—Proper Medication Safety and StorageHealth care organizations consistently struggle with the requirements surrounding the proper and safe storage of medications.  JCR consultant Gary Robb, R.Ph., who has a diverse background in long term care pharmacy, home infusion pharmacy and acute care hospital pharmacy, will discuss the standards and Elements of Performance of Standard MM.03.01.01, the challenges organizations face, and considerations related to policy, labeling, expired medication procedures, accessibility, staff training and more. When registering use code DEP738.
		May 5—Effective Medication Reconciliation Across a Multi-facility Health Care SystemTransferring theory into practice is the focus of this audioconference, with presenters describing their experience facilitating a standardized medication reconciliation process in a multi-facility health system.  The session will offer examples of processes organizations are using to ensure patient medication safety at admission, transfer to a different level of care, and discharge.  Other topics include use of electronic tools; staff motivators to promote success; education, auditing and competition; and use of clinical indication to enhance patient knowledge and adherence to a medication regimen. When registering use code DEP739.
		
				May 12—High-Alert MedicationsHigh-alert medications are involved in a high percentage of errors and/or sentinel events, and some carry a higher risk for abuse or other adverse outcomes.  Join Joint Commission surveyor and pharmacist Darryl Rich as he reviews the standards addressing these medications and discusses considerations to reduce the possibility of patient harm associated with high-alert medications, as well processes to ensure compliance and success in this arena. When registering use code DEP740.
		
				May 19—Ensuring Sustainable Outcomes for Medication SafetyChange is a part of the business in health care, but it does not necessarily result in improvement. Sustainable improvement occurs only by implementing effective and lasting change. Join Joint Commission Resources Medication Management Practice Leader Jeannell Mansur, R.Ph., Pharm.D., F.A.S.H.P., as she highlights research outside of health care, using lessons learned from other industries to create strategies for sustainable improvement in the health care setting. When registering use code DEP741.
		
				The cost is $249 per session or $1000 for the entire series. All audio conferences run from 12:30 to 2 p.m., Eastern Time. To register for any of the audioconferences, please call Customer Service at (877) 223-6866 or visit www.jcrinc.com.
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					<pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:35:20 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Audio Series to Explore Physical &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Environment Issues</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/4/14/JCR-Audio-Series-to-Explore-Physical-Environment-Issues/</link> 
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		(Oak Brook, Ill.—April 14, 2009) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) today announced an entry-level and advanced audioconference series to help health care organizations better understand The Joint Commission’s environment of care, fire safety and emergency management requirements and how to use these components of the accreditation process to improve safety and quality. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.The Physical Environment Entry-Level Audioconference Series is designed specifically for those interested in the basics of The Joint Commission’s standards and survey process including risk assessment, patient safety, minimizing security risks and applications of the Life Safety Code that are necessary to build a physical environment program. Participants may register for an individual audioconference at $249 per session, or the entire three-part subscription for $600.
		May 1—Environment of Care 101 This audioconference includes a comprehensive overview of The Joint Commission’s Environment of Care standards, the Elements of Performance and the specifics on scoring.  George Mills, F.A.S.H.E., C.H.F.M., associate director, Standards Interpretation Group, The Joint Commission, will also explain the survey process and challenging standards. When registering use code DEP745.
		 
		June 5—Emergency Management 101 Jerry Gervais, F.A.S.H.E., C.H.F.M., associate director, Standards Interpretation Group, The Joint Commission, will cover the basics of the The Joint Commission’s Emergency Management standards chapter including the four phases of emergency management (mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery); the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP); the Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA); and Joint Commission standards designed to help health care organizations plan and respond to potential emergency scenarios.  When registering use code DEP746.
		July 10—Life Safety Code 101 George Mills, F.A.S.H.E., C.H.F.M., associate director, Standards Interpretation Group, The Joint Commission, will discuss the Life Safety standards in depth, explain the electronic Statement of Conditions (e-SOC), and outline the role of the LSC specialist.  When registering use code DEP747.
		 The Physical Environment Advanced Audioconference Series was formerly known as The EC Audioconference series. The intended audience for this series is safety officers, safety committee members, environmental services employees, risk managers, clinical engineers, facilities managers, quality improvement managers, members of the multidisciplinary process and accreditation coordinators. Participants may register for an individual audio conference at $249 per session, or the entire five-part subscription for $1000.
		
				April 24—Deeming Status and Scoring UpdateJoint Commission standards expert George Mills, F.A.S.H.E., C.H.F.M., associate director, Standards Interpretation Group, The Joint Commission, will provide an update on deeming authority status by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as it relates to The Joint Commission’s Environment of Care, Emergency Management and Life Safety Code standards chapters. Mills will also discuss the revised accreditation scoring process, the impact it has had in the field, and the information you need to know as you prepare for survey. When registering use code DEP727.
		May 15—Emergency Management Survey Update This 90-minute audioconference will address implementation challenges related to Emergency Management standards, the frequently asked questions coming from the field, and strategies to meet these challenges head on to ensure the highest standard of preparedness, readiness and quality care. Jerry Gervais, F.A.S.H.E., C.H.F.M., associate director, Standards Interpretation Group, The Joint Commission, will lead the session. When registering use code DEP728.
		
				June 19—Life Safety Code: Operational IssuesHealth care organizations must be vigilant about fire safety, and an ongoing assessment of compliance with the Life Safety Code® is an effective way to identify and minimize risks.  This audioconference will provide a brief overview of The Joint Commission’s new Life Safety standards chapter and the role of the Life Safety Code® specialist before delving into the key operational issues covering the electronic Statement of Conditions, policies, procedures and management processes to address the standards and elements of performance. George Mills, F.A.S.H.E., C.H.F.M., associate director, Standards Interpretation Group, The Joint Commission will be the featured presenter. When registering use code DEP729.
		July 24—Environment of Care (EC) UpdateJohn Maurer, F.A.S.H.E., C.H.F.M., associate director, Standards Interpretation Group, The Joint Commission, will offer a higher level overview of The Joint Commission’s Environment of Care (EC) standards and survey process, modifications made to the EC chapter, and the implementation issues from the field.  Maurer will review the impact these changes have made in the field and provide feedback and strategies to promote a safe, functional and supportive environment where quality and safety are preserved. When registering use code DEP732.
		August 21—Physical Environment Wrap-Up SessionDesigned to be an open dialogue, participants are asked to come prepared with their questions, concerns, issues for clarification and overall comments on all components of the physical environment including Life Safety Code®, Emergency Management and the Environment of Care. George Mills, F.A.S.H.E., C.H.F.M., and Jerry Gervais, F.A.S.H.E., C.H.F.M., both associate directors in The Joint Commission’s Standards Interpretation Group, will answer questions. When registering use code DEP733.
		 All audioconferences take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. CT. To register for any of the audio conferences, please call Customer Service at (877) 223-6866 or visit www.jcrinc.com.
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					<pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:30:02 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Joint Commission President to lead &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; JCR Web Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/4/14/Joint-Commission-President-to-lead-JCR-Web-Conference/</link> 
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		Program Focuses on ‘Driving and Sustaining Organizational Improvement
		(Oak Brook, Ill.—April 13, 2009) Joint Commission President Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H., will lead an April 30 Web conference exploring how quality improvement tools such as Lean and Six Sigma are being applied in health care settings, and the success these organizations are experiencing. The Web conference, Driving and Sustaining Organizational Improvement, is being presented by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Dr. Chassin will discuss the challenges, process improvement models, and strategies to minimize risk and spearhead and sustain improvements in the health care industry. Under his leadership, The Joint Commission is enhancing its internal process improvement with the adoption of tools including Lean, Six Sigma and GE’s Change Acceleration Process. This Web conference is intended for senior leadership including members of the C-suite, physician leaders, quality improvement professionals, nurse leaders, risk managers and accreditation managers.The Web conference will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. CT, April 30. Cost of the conference is $249.  When registering use code DEP750. To register for the Web conference, please call Customer Service at (877) 223-6866 or visit www.jcrinc.com
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					<pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:27:25 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR to Host May 5-6 Hospital-Acquired &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Conditions Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/4/8/JCR-to-Host-May-5-6-Hospital-Acquired-Conditions-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(Oak Brook, Ill.—April 8, 2009) New Medicare financial incentives have many hospitals scrambling to find solutions to common problems such as surgical site infections, catheter—associated urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers and falls.  Hospital-Acquired Conditions: Solutions to Achieving Clinical and Financial Success is designed to help health care organizations balance quality of care issues with the payment implications of these new federal rules. The May 5-6 conference is presented by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a non-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.The conference will feature methods to analyze baseline financial and clinical risks, and identify metrics to monitor improvement strategies. The program will also include ideas for engaging physicians in organizational risk reduction strategies, as well as presentations from organizations that have successfully reduced infection rates, pressure ulcer prevalence, and other hospital-acquired injuries.Among the distinguished faculty, Donald Wright, M.D., M.P.H., Principal Deputy Assistant for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will discuss the agency’s efforts to reduce HAIs. D. Marcus Montgomery, Sr., J.D., R.N., Assistant Vice President and Chief Patient Safety Officer, University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospitals and Clinics, will address strategies for sustainability.Cost of the conference is $795. To register, please call JCR Customer Service at 1-877-223-6866. Additional details and a conference agenda also are available online at http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars. ]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:25:41 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Accreditation Summit Debuts April 28-29</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/4/3/JCR-Accreditation-Summit-Debuts-April-28-29/</link> 
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		A pre-summit April 27 is designed for those new to the accreditation process
		(Oak Brook, Ill.—April 3, 2009) Health care leaders can learn strategies and solutions to improve their organizations’ accreditation processes at The Joint Commission Accreditation Summit. The April 28-29 summit is being presented by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.The summit will feature customized accreditation tracks to meet the different standards requirements for the hospital, home care, ambulatory care, behavioral health care, laboratory and long-term care accreditation programs.  Expert faculty will include surveyors, members of the standards interpretation group and other accreditation champions. A pre-summit, April 27, is designed for organizations new to the accreditation process and will offer fundamental information about Joint Commission standards and the accreditation process. Faculty will go step-by-step through the accreditation process, explaining basic concepts such as Accreditation Participation Requirements (APR), the tracer methodology, the Periodic Performance Review (PPR), and Priority Focus Process (PFP), as well as answer questions.The 2009 Summit will provide an opportunity to interact with and ask questions of members of The Joint Commission team—accreditation program executive directors, field directors, surveyors and members of the standards interpretation team. Featured speakers from The Joint Commission will include Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H., president; and Ann Scott Blouin, Ph.D., R.N., executive vice president, Division of Accreditation and Certification Operations. Chassin will give the opening address. Blouin will discuss “Meeting and Exceeding Customer Expectations.”  The summit is designed to help participants:• Understand The Joint Commission’s robust process improvement strategies and its role in improving quality and safety in health care.• Incorporate new facts about regulatory changes to understand their impact on Joint Commission standards, deeming authority and accredited organizations.• Identify the top 10 most challenging standards and National Patient Safety Goals and how to comply with these requirements.• Engage in discussions about program-specific challenges and learn leading practices and solutions to resolve these issues.Cost of the summit is $795 per person for registration by April 10, or $695 for teams of three or more participants from the same organization; the standard cost is $895 per person. The pre-summit is $199 per person. To register, please call JCR Customer Service at 1.877.223.6866. Additional details and a summit agenda also are available online at http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/Accreditation-Summit/1510/, and for the summit pre-conference at http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/Accreditation-Summit-Pre-Conference/1509/.
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					<pubDate>Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:05:55 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Advice to Patients Often Misses the Target</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/3/25/Advice-to-Patients-Often-Misses-the-Target/</link> 
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		Study looks at common patient safety advisories
		
				(Oak Brook, Ill.—March 23, 2009) A study published in the April 2009 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety reports that many patient safety advisories are of limited value. The study evaluated 160 patient safety recommendations that investigators identified from literature and online materials published by 26 U.S. health care organizations including The Joint Commission, the National Patient Safety Foundation and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. Each recommendation was rated by an expert panel of investigators and, for a consumer perspective, by 22 mothers who are relatives of the investigators.According to the study, patients are exposed to so many different patient safety recommendations that they may be confused by the advice. The authors argue that further research is needed to identify those recommendations with the most potential for improving patient safety.“Our hypothesis was that patient safety advisories from leading health care organizations would mimic one another. However, we were somewhat surprised to learn that the advice was quite varied,” says Saul N. Weingart, M.D., Ph.D., vice president for patient safety and director, Center for Patient Safety, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “This study found that patients encounter a bewildering array of recommendations. We need to offer patients sound advice based on simple principles, or else the benefit is lost. We also hypothesized that the investigators’ and mothers’ assessments would be consistent, and were gratified to find that they were indeed aligned.”The investigators recommend that organizations that offer recommendations consider the scientific merit of the advisory, whether consumers will follow the advice, and select recommendations that provide the greatest impact.According to the investigators, the top five recommendations are:• If you think you have taken an overdose, or a child has taken medication by accident, call your local poison control center or your health care provider at once.• If you develop itching or swelling, or have trouble breathing after taking a new medicine, get medical help immediately.• Make sure care providers verify your identity before any procedure or taking any medication.• Ask about risks and potential complications of surgery, expected outcomes, and alternatives to surgery.• Review your medications with the doctor, nurse or pharmacist before you go home from the hospital. Change your medication list accordingly.
		
				The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, published monthly by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), features peer-reviewed research and case studies on improving quality and safety in health care organizations. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.To subscribe to The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, please call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 800-746-6578, or visit www.jcrinc.com. Click here to order the article.  
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					<pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:10:14 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Appoints Clarion E. Johnson, M.D. to Board</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/3/13/JCR-Appoints-Clarion-E-Johnson-MD-to-Board/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(Oak Brook, Ill.—March 12, 2009) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) announces the appointment of Clarion E. Johnson, M.D., to its Board of Directors.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.Johnson is currently the Global Medical Director of the Medicine and Occupational Health division of Exxon Mobile Corporation in Fairfax, Virginia. Johnson joined Mobil Corporation in 1988 and has held several clinical director positions with the company. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiology and occupational medicine.“Dr. Johnson’s knowledge and experience in health care quality will be a major asset in JCR’s ongoing efforts to provide expertise to health care organizations around the world who share our commitment to improving the quality and safety of care for patients everywhere,” says Karen H. Timmons, president and CEO, JCR.Dr. Johnson serves as a Diplomat to the American Board of Internal Medicine, a Diplomat to American Board of Preventive Medicine and a Diplomat to the National Board of Medical Examiners. He received his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Johnson will serve a three-year term. ]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:47:56 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Announces Informed Consent Audio Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/2/27/JCR-Announces-Informed-Consent-Audio-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(OAK BROOK, Illinois, USA – February 27, 2009) Informed medical decision making is the topic of an upcoming audio conference sponsored by Joint Commission Resources (JCR). JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.On March 6, Michael Barry, M.D., professor, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and chief, General Medicine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, will lead the audio conference “Informed Medical Decision Making.” He will explain the scientific evidence behind the use of multiple educational tools -- including videos, web-based programs, and print materials -- as part of a shared decision-making model involving the patient and their health care provider.Barry is a medical editor for the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision-Making; and he is a former president of the Society for Medical Decision-Making (SMDM) and the Society of General Internal Medicine. He was the principal investigator of the Prostate PORT-II. His research interests include defining the outcomes of strategies for the evaluation and treatment of prostate disease, decision analysis, health status measurement, technology assessment, and the use of decision aids to facilitate patients’ participation in decision-making.This program is oriented towards CEOs, CMOs, CNOs, patient safety officers, physician leaders, nursing leaders, performance improvement professionals and quality management directors.The audio conference is $249 per event. It will run from 12:30 to 2 p.m. EST. Registration for the live audio conference session closes at 6 pm EST, two days prior to the scheduled presentation date. For those unable to participate, the audio conference is available on CD. The registration code for “Informed Medical Decision Making” is (DEP714).To register for this program, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, weekdays, or visit www.jrcinc.com.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:17:28 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Keep HAIs at Bay With a JCR Audio Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/2/17/Keep-HAIs-at-Bay-With-a-JCR-Audio-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		Infection Control Experts will Share Their Knowledge
		
		 (OAK BROOK, Illinois, USA – February 18, 2009) To be effective, infection prevention and control requires organizations to develop a proactive program. Joint Commission Resources’ Infection Control 2009 Audio Conference Series  provides strategies to assist organizations in complying with infection control related standards. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission. Presenters for the audio conference series, which begins this month, will discuss proven strategies for running an effective infection control program with an emphasis on details that matter to infection prevention and control professionals. The series covers topics that are important to epidemiologists, quality improvement professionals, accreditation managers, physician leaders, nurse leaders, public health professionals, directors of quality improvement, and risk managers. The five-part audio conference series includes:- February 25, “Meeting and Exceeding the Requirements of National Patient Safety Goal 7,” led by Barbara Soule, M.S., R.N., C.I.C., practice leader, infection prevention and control, Joint Commission Resources. To register use code (DEP715).- March 4, “Data Mining for Infection Prevention,” led by Thanh Dao, M.S., C.I.C., infection control practitioner, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System. To register use code (DEP716). - March 11, “Heightened SSI Surveillance,” led by Paul Thomas, R.N., B.S.N., C.I.C., infection prevention and control coordinator, Saint Claire’s Hospital and the Diagnostic Treatment Center. To register use code (DEP717). - March 18, “Flash Sterilization: Issues/Updates,” led by William A. Rutala, Ph.D., M.P.H., director, Hospital Epidemiology, Occupational Health and Safety Program, U.N.C. Health Care System. To register use code (DEP718).  - March 25, “HAI Allied Task Force,” led by Kelly Podgorny, R.N., M.S., C.P.H.Q., project director, Division of Standards and Survey Methods, The Joint Commission. To register use code (DEP719).  The entire five-part series is $1,000 per organization, individual sessions are $249 per organization, and the registration code for the entire series is (DEP801). All audio conferences run from 12:30 to 2 p.m., Eastern Time. For those unable to participate, the audio conference is available on CD and is accompanied by slides. Registration for the live audio conference session closes at 6 p.m. EST, two days prior to the scheduled presentation date. To register for this program, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, weekdays, or click here. Continuous Service Readiness clients should call 888-205-7382.  ]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:30:44 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Start the New Year with a Focus on Cath Lab Safety </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/2/13/Start-the-New-Year-with-a-Focus-on-Cath-Lab-Safety/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		New JCR Course Covers Key Lab Issues
		(OAK BROOK, Illinois, USA – February 13, 2009) Joint Commission Resources announces the release of a new DVD course, “Keeping Safety in Focus: Reducing Complications in the Cardiac Cath Lab.”  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  This educational activity is funded in part by an unrestricted educational grant from Marine Polymer Technologies. Even with today’s technology-driven operative processes administered by highly skilled practitioners, it is not uncommon for complications to occur in the cardiac catheterization lab.  The nature of these complications can sometimes be quite severe for patients. This program focuses on methods for improving patient safety in the cardiac catheterization lab including management tools for continuous process improvement, and a step-by-step process utilizing best practices and recommended protocols to help ensure a patient’s well-being. Topics in this DVD include: The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals and requirements, which relate to the cardiac catheterization lab; identification of safety challenges facing labs; and opportunities for improvement.  This DVD identifies who is responsible and accountable for safety in the lab, and shows examples of different approaches to enhancing safety based on data use and performance improvement principles. The DVD is available for $295 using item code DVD0801.  To order this item, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, weekdays, or visit www.jcrinc.com.
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					<pubDate>Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:50:34 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR and The Joint Commission to Host Emergency Preparedness Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/2/3/JCR-and-The-Joint-Commission-to-Host-Emergency-Preparedness-Conference/</link> 
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		Annual event is April 14-15 in Washington D.C. (Oak Brook, Ill.—February 3, 2009) Earthquakes, tornadoes, heat waves, floods, oil spills, fires, nuclear accidents, dirty bombs, pandemic flu, hurricanes, blackouts, blizzards -- all health care facilities should be ready at any time for all types of disaster. However, many do not have adequate plans for how to respond and recover from such emergencies.  The 2009 Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference: If It Happened Tomorrow, Is Your Community Ready? will help health care organizations prepare for the unexpected. The April 14-15 conference at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C. is being presented by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a non-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.This conference will highlight case studies focused on The Joint Commission’s “all-hazards” approach that drills down on six critical areas of emergency response—communication, resources, safety, staff, utilities and clinical activities for effective emergency management.The conference will feature real-life examples of organizations that have dealt with emergencies, beginning with a keynote address by Commander Chris Yates of the U.S. Public Health Service that examines the federal response to Texas Hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Dolly. Conference participants will learn new processes, technologies, techniques and tools that offer sustainable strategies to achieve a level of preparedness sufficient to address a range of emergencies, regardless of the cause. Follow-up workshops will focus on how to apply concepts in participants’ organizations.Participants who register at least 30 days prior to the conference receive a $100 discount on the $849 cost per person. Organizations with three or more participants at the conference may register for $629 per person. To register, please call JCR Customer Service at 1.877.223.6866. Additional details and a conference agenda also are available online at http://www.jcrinc.com/Conferences-and-Seminars/Annual-Emergency-Preparedness-Conference/1503/
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					<pubDate>Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:09:31 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Joint Commission Resources, Med-IQ &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Collaborate to Improve Patient Care in Hospitals</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/1/15/Joint-Commission-Resources-Med-IQ-Collaborate-to-Improve-Patient-Care-in-Hospitals/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		For Immediate Release
		
				BALTIMORE, Md.—January 14, 2009—To help improve the care of hospitalized patients, Joint Commission Resources and Med-IQ will collaborate to deliver innovative medical education content to hospital-based physicians and other healthcare professionals in 2009.
		Through its Quality & Safety Network, Joint Commission Resources delivers a series of satellite and online broadcasts to educate hospital-based healthcare professionals on how to apply Joint Commission standards and continuously improve patient care. “As we empower healthcare professionals to strengthen the quality and safety of their patient environments, aligning with Med-IQ extends our ability to respond to patient and professional needs within hospitals,” said George Riccio, distance learning associate director for Joint Commission Resources.Med-IQ develops programs that are extremely participatory, interactive and relevant to healthcare professionals’ most immediate needs. We engage clinicians with case-based discussions, polling questions, and role-playing – proven methods that will help them retain the most information, with the tools to apply it to practice.“We are proud to partner with Joint Commission Resources to help physicians and other hospital-based healthcare professionals self-direct their learning for continuous improvement in competency, performance, and patient care,” said Scott Weber, co-CEO of Med-IQ.Together, Joint Commission Resources and Med-IQ will offer clinicians relevant medical courses in hospitals via satellite and online broadcasts, access to a national panel of experts, participation in an idea-exchange network with colleagues across the country, and complimentary continuing education credits. For more information about the Joint Commission Resources/Med-IQ collaboration, please e-mail info@med-iq.com or call toll-free 866 858 7434.Joint Commission Resources and Med-IQ will offer complimentary CME in 2009 for hospital-based care providers, including:* Guidelines-Based Care in VTE Prophylaxis and Management in Special Populations * Satellite broadcast and interactive Webcast available January 2009* VTE Prophylaxis in the Orthopedic Patient * Satellite broadcast, interactive Webcast, and print newsletters available March 2009* Deep Vein Thrombosis: Strategies to Achieve Optimum Hospital Based Care * Print newsletter available fall 2009Sign up to receive e-mail alerts about upcoming courses.  About Joint Commission ResourcesJoint Commission Resources, Inc. (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, has been designated by The Joint Commission to publish publications and multimedia products. JCR reproduces and distributes these materials under license from The Joint Commission. JCR educational programs and publications support the accreditation activities of The Joint Commission, but are separate functions. Attendees at JCR educational programs and purchasers of JCR publications receive no special consideration or treatment in, or confidential information about, the accreditation process. Learn more about Joint Commission Resources at www.jcrinc.com.  
		
				About Med-IQMed-IQ, America’s most respected continuing medical education (CME) company, is an accredited provider of CME that educates and inspires healthcare professionals through programs that deliver sophisticated outcomes-based educational designs with measurable results in professional competence and performance. Med-IQ is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the California Board of Registered Nursing (CBRN), and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing medical education to physicians, nurses, and pharmacists, respectively. To learn more about us, visit www.Med-IQ.com.
		
				For more information, contact:LaWanda Stone AbernathySenior Manager, Audience Development443 543 5144labernathy@med-iq.com
		Catherine Bretz Mullaney, MHAVice President, Audience Development and Educational Outcomes443 543 5154cbretz@med-iq.com
		 
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					<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:44:39 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR, Hill-Rom Launch Nurse&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Safety Scholar-in-Residence Program</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/1/9/JCR-Hill-Rom-Launch-Nurse-Safety-Scholar-in-Residence-Program/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		Media Contact for JCR     Ken PowersMedia Relations Manager630-792-5175kpowers@jointcommission.org
		Media Contact for Hill-RomLauren Green-Caldwell, Director, Corporate Communications & Public Relations812-934-8692 lauren.green-caldwell@hill-rom.com
		Investor Relations Contact for Hill-RomBlair A. (Andy) Rieth, Jr., Vice President, Investor Relations, Corporate Communications & Global Brand Development812-931-2199andy.rieth@hill-rom.com
		
				(Oak Brook, Ill. and Batesville, Ind.)—January 9, 2009 Recognizing the important role nurses play in translating evidence-based findings to excellent care at the patient’s bedside, Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and Hill-Rom (NYSE:HRC), are collaborating to launch a Nurse Safety Scholar-in-Residence program in 2009. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission. Hill-Rom is a global medical technology company.The Nurse Safety Scholar-in-Residence program will focus initially on developing tools and best practices to maintain skin integrity and prevent pressure ulcers. An estimated 2.5 million patients are treated for pressure ulcers in acute care facilities in the United States each year, according to studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003 and 2006. In the future, expert nurse clinicians and scholars in the program will concentrate on putting into practice evidence-based solutions to prevent patient falls. Both pressure ulcers and in-hospital falls are among the preventable conditions and events on Medicare’s “no pay” list. “Nurses play a role in all patient safety efforts and this scholar-in-residence program will give nursing leaders an opportunity to develop and share innovative solutions to these significant patient safety problems,” says Deborah Nadzam, Ph.D., F.A.A.N., practice leader, Patient Safety, JCR.“At Hill-Rom we strive to use our resources in ways that make a difference every day in the lives of patients and their caregivers,” says Melissa Fitzpatrick, R.N., M.S.N., F.A.A.N., vice president and chief clinical officer for Hill-Rom. “We see collaborating with JCR in this important research as one key way to support the discovery of new solutions to truly enhance the safety and ultimate positive outcomes for patients. Collaborating with such a world-class organization as JCR enables us to accomplish patient safety goals that neither of us would be able to accomplish on our own. ” The goals of the program are:• Fostering the professional development of expert nurse clinicians and scholars to become translators of evidence into practice;• Identifying best practice processes and technology associated with providing safe care for specific clinical problems; and• Establishing hospital collaborative projects focused on clinical challenges and adverse events, initially relating to skin care and the prevention of falls.The selected nurse will serve a twelve-month appointment as Scholar-in-Residence and, in addition to other project responsibilities, will:• Receive training in patient safety and performance measurement and improvement;• Author a manuscript for submission to a refereed journal;• Participate in the selection of hospitals participating in the project; and• Coordinate the activities of participating hospitals and educate their staff regarding the performance improvement model and best practices for the prevention of harm.The program will be managed through JCR. Applicants are now being sought for the scholar-in-residence program. The deadline for applications is February 23, with the first scholars being announced in April 2009. For more information about the program or to apply, please visit http://www.jcrinc.com/JCR-Hill-Rom-Nurse-Scholar/. 
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					<pubDate>Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:18:26 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Study Finds Failure to Include Nurses in Process of &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Admitting Errors to Patients, Families</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2009/1/7/Study-Finds-Failure-to-Include-Nurses-in-Process-of-Admitting-Errors-to-Patients-Families/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		Need for team approach to disclosing medical mistakes shown
		 (OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – January 7, 2009) Even though nurses routinely disclose nursing errors to their patients, a new study published in the January 2009 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety shows that nurses often are not included when physicians tell patients about more serious mistakes. Nurses play such a hands-on role at the bedside of their patients that the study’s authors conclude that the absence of nurses from discussions to plan for or disclose errors can diminish the quality of the disclosure experienced by the patient or their family. For example, when nurses are not involved in the planning for disclosure, they may seem evasive in answering patients’ questions or stall by encouraging families to write down their questions or set up a meeting with doctors. The study, “Disclosing Errors to Patients: Perspectives of Registered Nurses,” systematically explores nurses’ attitudes toward and experiences with error disclosure to patients.“Improving the quality of error disclosure to patients is a top priority in health care,” says Sarah E. Shannon, Ph.D., R.N., vice associate dean for academic services in the University of Washington School of Nursing, associate professor of behavioral nursing and health systems at the University of Washington, and lead author of the study. “Error disclosure needs to be a team sport. This means quickly sharing information among the team about the error: what happened, why it occurred, what is being done to mitigate potential harm and prevent future errors, and what the patient has been told, will be told, and when.”The study of nearly 100 nurses reports that nurses say they talk with patients about errors that are within their control, such as late or missed medications or treatments. But nurses in the study said they hesitate to independently disclose errors that involved serious harm or actions of other members of the health care team. In these situations, the nurses said the responsibility fell to the patient’s attending physician. The nurses said, however, that they would like a role in the disclosure process as a way to both communicate directly with the patient about nursing’s role in the event and to avoid being blamed for the event. The study also found low awareness of institutional disclosure policies.The study’s authors—three nurses and one physician—conclude that a team disclosure process is best and recommend that health care organizations establish policies that permit nurses and other caregivers to participate in and raise concerns about the disclosure process. The authors point out that a lack of collaboration and communication in the disclosure process may lead to moral distress, increased job dissatisfaction and job turnover among nurses. In addition, the authors suggest that nurse managers should receive training on how to tell patients and families that a mistake has occurred. This study was supported by the Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.   The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, published monthly by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), features peer-reviewed research and case studies on improving quality and safety in health care organizations.  Click here to order this article in the January 2009 issue. To subscribe to The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, please call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 800-746-6578, or visit www.jcrinc.com. 
		
				Note: No statement in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety should be construed as an official position of The Joint Commission or Joint Commission Resources, Inc. (JCR) unless otherwise stated. In particular, there has been no official review with regard to matters of standards compliance. 
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					<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:22:07 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Releases Book on Advanced Lean Thinking</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/12/15/JCR-Releases-Book-on-Advanced-Lean-Thinking/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[(Oak Brook, Ill.—December 15, 2008) Lean thinking has been used with success in many fields, and now health care is beginning to incorporate these process management principles to improve the quality and safety of patient care. Advanced Lean Thinking: Proven Methods to Reduce Waste and Improve Quality in Health Care, a new book published by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, offers an alternative to traditional health care performance improvement.  A follow-up to Doing More with Less: Lean Thinking and Patient Safety in Health Care, this book focuses on five specific tools and principles that can eliminate waste, save critical time and improve the delivery and safety of patient care. Part One of Advanced Lean Thinking takes an in-depth look at the foundational rules and principles of Lean thinking, providing definitions, step-by-step explanations of how to use the tools, and example applications for value stream mapping, kaizen events, 5S events, error proofing and Six Sigma. Part Two takes readers through real-life applications of these key Lean concepts and tools by highlighting case studies of successful lean projects in all types of health care settings. The examples illustrate the collaborative nature and power of Lean tools and identify opportunities for the future. Seven case studies explore Lean thinking in such areas as patient and nurse flow, appointment scheduling, lab turnaround and more. The final chapter helps readers advance Lean thinking in their own health care organizations and achieve desired results. Advanced Lean Thinking: Proven Methods to Reduce Waste and Improve Quality in Health Care is available for $75 using order code ALT08 by calling JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877-223-6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or by visiting www.jcrinc.com.]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:45:36 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Introduces Electronic Edition of &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Accreditation Manuals</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/12/3/JCR-Introduces-Electronic-Edition-of-Accreditation-Manuals/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		  (Oak Brook, Ill.—December 3, 2008) The first-ever, interactive, web-based tool for navigating Joint Commission accreditation requirements is now available, offering health care organizations a new, time-saving way to provide access to and focus on standards that help improve patient care . The “E-ditions” of the comprehensive accreditation manuals, available for all Joint Commission accreditation programs, are being released by JCR, a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission .             The new electronic manuals will allow users to retrieve the standards in a variety of ways that mirror their familiarity with the standards. At any given point, users will be only a few clicks away from any standard. Those who are familiar with the standards can look up specifics with minimum effort. For anyone less familiar with the standards, full text searching helps locate appropriate standards or elements of performance.            “For health care organizations that use Joint Commission standards to improve patient care and safety, the E-dition of the accreditation manuals helps users find what they need, when they need it,” says Karen H. Timmons, president and CEO, JCR. “Users can easily see what is expected and use it as part of their everyday efforts to provide safe, high quality care.” E-dition manuals for the hospital, critical access hospital, ambulatory, office-based surgery and home care programs feature a profile filtering tool which allows users to reduce and focus the number of standards and elements of performance displayed to only those which apply to the organization’s services. Users can further filter the display based on additional criteria that reflect particular areas of focus. Users can more readily understand what is expected of their organization since they only see standards and requirements that apply to their unique health care setting.             Other features include: -  Regular updates to the site that provide users with the most current information on the standards; -  History tracking, with its side-by-side comparisons, indicates the progression of a standard over time which keeps users abreast of changes in expectations; and -  Full text searching to locate standards by particular topics. The filtering and history tracking features for the behavioral health care, laboratory and long term care programs will be available in the 2010 E-ditions. The E-dition is part of the The Joint Commission’s Standards Improvement Initiative (SII), launched in 2006, with goals to simplify and clarify standards, elements of performance, scoring and decision processes, and the accreditation manuals.             All Joint Commission accredited organizations will receive one free single user license to the E-dition for their accredited programs, in addition to the complimentary print manual. Organizations may purchase additional access by upgrading to a site license (unlimited users from a single site) or purchasing additional single-user licenses. The E-dition is also available to non-accredited organizations. To order E-dition, please call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877-223-6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or visit www.jcrinc.com.  ]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:44:34 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Appoints Jack Bailey as Chair of the Board</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/12/2/JCR-Appoints-Jack-Bailey-as-Chair-of-the-Board/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						(Oak Brook, Ill.—December 2, 2008) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) today announces the appointment of Jack Bailey, M.B.A., as 2009 chair of its Board of Directors and LaMar S. McGinnis, M.D., F.A.C.S., as its vice chair.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
		
		
				
						
								Bailey has served on the JCR Board of Directors for five years. He became secretary of the JCR Board in 2006, and was vice chair of the JCR Board in 2007 and 2008. He has served on the JCR Executive Committee since 2005, and was most recently vice chairman. Bailey is senior vice president, Account-Based Markets, Eli Lilly and Co.
				
		
		
				
						
								
										 “Jack’s experience on the JCR Board of Directors and in his daily work with health care organizations will be a major asset as he assumes this leadership position and helps JCR achieve its goals of educating and informing health care providers through multiple avenues including seminars, continuing education, publications and consulting. He shares our goal of helping providers and organizations to improve patient safety and quality,” says Karen H. Timmons, president and CEO, JCR.
				
		
		
				
						
								“JCR’s work is more important than ever as health care organizations seek new ways to meet growing demands by the public, the government and other stakeholders for breakthroughs in health care quality and safety,” says Bailey. “I look forward to collaborating with JCR leaders to ensure that we meet the demands of the health care community.”
				
		
		
				
						
								Dr. McGinnis has been a member of The Joint Commission Board of Commissioners since 2005, and will be the AmericanCollege of Surgeons (ACS) representative to the Joint Commission Executive Committee in 2009.  He was named president-elect of ACS in October. Dr. McGinnis is a clinical professor of surgery at EmoryUniversity and senior medical advisor and liaison with the American Cancer Society, both in Atlanta.
				
		
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					<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:31:32 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Study: Patient Harm More Common with &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Patient-Controlled Pain Medication</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/12/1/Study-Patient-Harm-More-Common-with-Patient-Controlled-Pain-Medication/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		(OAK BROOK, Ill. – December 1, 2008) Intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) allows patients to control their own pain medication, but a new study published in the December 2008 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety shows that errors related to this practice are four times more likely to result in patient harm than errors that occur with other medications. 
		
				The study of more than 9,500 PCA errors over a five-year period in the United States showed that patient harm occurred in 6.5 percent of incidents, compared to 1.5 percent for general medication errors. The PCA errors examined also were more severe—harming patients and requiring clinical interventions in response to the error—than other types of medication errors. Most errors involved either the wrong dosage or the wrong drug caused by human factors, equipment or communication breakdowns. For example, one case involved a patient who received several 10mg doses instead of 1 mg medication doses after surgery because of an incorrectly programmed dispensing pump. The PCA errors examined also were more severe—harming patients and requiring clinical interventions in response to the error—than other types of medication errors. 
		
				“The entire PCA process is highly complex,” says the study’s lead author Rodney W. Hicks, Ph.D., M.S.N., M.P.A., UMC Health System Endowed Chair for Patient Safety and Professor, Anita Thigpen Perry School of Nursing, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas. “PCA orders must be written, reviewed and then accurately programmed into sophisticated delivery devices for patients to be pain free. Such complexity makes PCA an error prone process. Health care organizations should now plan to make the process safer.” 
		
				Through this method, a patient can administer doses of pain medication with the push of a button. A computerized pump that contains a syringe of doctor-prescribed pain medication is connected directly to a patient’s intravenous (IV) line. PCA can be used to relieve pain after surgery or for other chronic pain conditions. Harm associated with PCA errors can include respiration suppression, inadequate pain relief and patient death. 
		
				Data for the study came from voluntary reports to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP)’s MEDMARX Program, and shows that more than 60 percent of the hospitals anonymously reporting medication errors through MEDMARX had at least one PCA error. The study —“ Medication Errors Involving Patient-Controlled Analgesia” —is important because preventing PCA errors “would yield substantial gains in patient safety,” the authors conclude. 
		
				To reduce PCA errors, Dr. Hicks and the co-authors recommend three strategies: 
		- Simplify the technical equipment used in PCA. The study shows that the PCA process is heavily dependent on the ability of caregivers to execute sequential tasks successfully, so easy-to-follow setup instructions for equipment could reduce errors. The study urges PCA vendors to look for ways to make it less likely that programming errors will lead to a wrong dose. 
		- Use bar codes and an electronic medication administration record to reduce errors that involve the wrong medication. Independent double-checks of the PCA orders, the product and the PCA device settings should be standard practice, the study advises. 
		- Ask pharmacists to design easily understood and standardized forms for PCA, and ensure that prescribers use only these standardized forms. These actions would address communication problems that lead to errors and bring regional standardization to the PCA process. 
		
				In 2004 The Joint Commission issued a Sentinel Event Alert that identified root causes of patient-controlled analgesia errors and contained recommendations for reducing errors. 
		
				The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety , published monthly by Joint Commission Resources, features peer-reviewed research and case studies on improving quality and safety in health care organizations. Click here to order this article in the December 2008 issue.  
		
				To subscribe to The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, please call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 800-746-6578, or visit www.jcrinc.com . 
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					<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:07:32 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>2009 Accreditation Process Guides Available &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; for all Programs</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/12/1/2009-Accreditation-Process-Guides-Available-for-all-Programs/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								New Guides offer step-by-step guidance
						
				
		
		
				
						
								  
						
				
		
		
				
						
								  
						
				
		
		
				
						(OAK BROOK, Illinois, USA – October xx, 2008) Accreditation Process Guides are the perfect companion for busy accreditation managers, as well as anyone else who oversees accreditation activities within an organization. The spiral-bound guides, published by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), are tailored for specific accreditation programs and address the intricacies of the accreditation process. For 2009 the guides are also available in electronic format with a site license that allows multiple people within an organization to access the guide. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
		
		
				
						
								            Users will be able to use the guide to perform a self-assessment of their organization using a compliance-assessment checklist. The checklist covers all of the elements of performance that have been reworded or reorganized as part of the Standards Improvement Initiative (SII). Mock tracer questions and a step-by-step example of a tracer will also help prepare staff for the real survey. The guides also include sample survey agendas, a description of the periodic performance review, tips on writing plans of action, a list of all elements of performance that require measures of success and updated worksheets to prepare staff for the survey.
				
		
		
				
						
								Available guides include:
				
		
		
				
						
								2009 Accreditation Process Guide for Ambulatory Care, ISBN : 978-1-59940-246-8, $119
						
				
				
						
								2009 Accreditation Process Guide for Behavioral Health Care, ISBN : 978-1-59940-266-6, $119
						
				
				
						
								2009 Accreditation Process Guide for Home Care, ISBN : 978-1-59940-247-5, $119
						
				
				
						
								2009 Accreditation Process Guide for Hospitals, ISBN : 978-1-59940-245-1, $139
						
				
				
						
								2009 Accreditation Process Guide for Laboratories, ISBN 978-1-59940-267-3, $119
						
				
				
						
								2009 Accreditation Process Guide for Long Term Care, ISBN : 978-1-59940-268-0, $119
						
				
		
		
				
						
								  
						
				
		
		
				
						
								            
						
						
								To order publications, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or visit 
								
										
												www.jcrinc.com
										
								
								.
						
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:05:11 GMT</pubDate>
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				<item>
					<title>JCR Releases Patient Safety Rounds: &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; A How-To Workbook</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/11/13/JCR-Releases-Patient-Safety-Rounds-A-How-To-Workbook/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		 
		
				
						(Oak Brook, Ill.—November 13, 2008) 
						Patient safety rounds help connect senior leaders with frontline caregivers, providing leaders with a valuable opportunity to learn about day-to-day safety issues and then use that knowledge to bring about real, practical safety initiatives in their organizations. 
						
								
										
												
												Patient Safety Rounds: A How-To Workbook
								
						
						
								, 
						
						a new book from Joint Commission Resources (JCR)—a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission—
						is designed to help health care leaders and staff understand how to implement patient safety rounds and ensure that those rounds will lead to better quality care in their organization.
				
		
		
				
						
								            
								
										
												Patient Safety Rounds: A How-To Workbook
								also includes case studies that share proven methods from organizations on how patient safety rounds are currently being implemented and conducted, along with a foreword by Allan Frankel, M.D., director of patient safety for Partners HealthCare.  The cost of Patient Safety Rounds: A How-To Workbook, order code PSRW08, is $75. 
						
								
								
						
				
		
		
				
						
								            
								To order publications, please 
						call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or visit www.jcrinc.com
						.
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:53:02 GMT</pubDate>
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				<item>
					<title>Annual Behavioral Health Care Conference &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; December 9-10</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/11/10/Annual-Behavioral-Health-Care-Conference-December-9-10/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								The Newest Accreditation Requirements and Industry Trends will be Addressed
						
				
		
		
				
						
								
										 
								
						
				
		
		
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill.—November 10, 2008) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) announce that the
						
								
										Fifth Annual Conference on Behavioral Health Care
								
						
						will be held December 9-10, 2008, at the Westin Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Ill.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  
				
		
		
				
						
								            The conference sessions will address topics of interest to employees across the behavioral health care continuum and will feature a keynote address by The Joint Commission’s President Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H.  
				
		
		
				
						
								Some of the sessions include:
				
		
		
				
						
								President and CEO of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare Linda Rosenberg, M.S.W., will talk about current trends and issues in behavioral health care.
						
				
				
						
								
								
						
				
				
						
								A psychological first aid course for licensed behavioral health care providers.  The course, offered in two parts, prepares American Red Cross workers to provide basic care, comfort and support to people experiencing disaster related stress.  A certificate will be offered to those who complete both sessions.
						
				
				
						
								An overview of the new Hospital-Based Inpatient Psychiatric Services (HBIPS) core measure set will be given by Celeste Milton, M.P.H., B.S.N. R.N., associate project director in The Joint Commission’s Division of Research.  Milton will discuss the results of the measure set pilot test, review the measure set and give specific details on each of the seven measures.
						
				
				
						
								
								
						
				
				
						
								Sharp Mesa Vista and AuroraBehavioralHealthHospital assisted in the evacuation of patients during the 2007 San Diego wildfires.  Kathi Lencioni, M.P.H., F.A.C.H.E., Sharp Healthcare, will explain how they worked together to admit patients to two facilities during the five days that the wildfires raged, and how they provided emergency credentialing for nurses and physicians to assist with the transition.
						
				
		
		
				
						
								            
								
										
												A December 8 pre-conference “Behavioral Health Care Update: Leading the Way to Quality and Safety: Maximizing Your Accreditation Efforts
								
						
				
				
						
								,”
						
						
								also at the Westin Michigan Avenue, will offer two separate seminars to address the unique requirements of 
								
										
												freestanding
										
								
								behavioral health care organizations and 
								
										
												psychiatric hospitals
										
								
								.  The seminars for both types of organizations will 
						
						
								spotlight different aspects of the accreditation requirements to inform and update staff on current issues in accreditation including changes to the scoring system and the new electronic manual, E-dition.  The psychiatric hospital seminar will also explain what surveyors will be reviewing in regards to clinical assessment of clients for suicidal and homicidal risk, environmental assessment for hanging and strangulation risk, and staff communication and participation in risk reduction efforts.
						
								
								
						
				
		
		
				
						
								            The cost of the main conference is $649.  A discounted price of $599 per person is offered for teams of three or more. To register for this program use code08100.
						
				
		
		
				
						                
				
				The cost of the pre-conference is $495 per person.  When registering, freestanding behavioral health care organizations should use program code 08046, and psychiatric hospitals should use program code 
				
						08115.
				
				
						
						
				
		
		
				
						
								To register for a program, please call Customer Service at 877-223-6866, or for more information or to register online please visit the JCR website at 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						.  
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:09:50 GMT</pubDate>
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				<item>
					<title>2009 Environment of Care Crosswalk &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; now Available for Hospitals</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/11/7/2009-Environment-of-Care-Crosswalk-now-Available-for-Hospitals/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								
										 
										EC Crosswalk Links Joint Commission Standards with Regulatory Guidelines
								
						
				
		
		
				
						
								 
						
				
		
		
				
						(OAK BROOK, Illinois, USA – November 7, 2008) Joint Commission Resources announces the release of, “Environment of Care� Crosswalk: A Comparison of The Joint Commission 2009 Environment of Care, Emergency Management, and Life Safety Standards with OSHA, NFPA, EPA and Other Regulations.”  The Crosswalk helps hospitals to simplify their compliance activities and recognize when there is a duplication of requirements between the 2009 Joint Commission Environment of Care, Emergency Management, and Life Safety standards, and the regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  
				
		
		
				
						
								
										
												
														
												The CD-ROM Crosswalk features links to the regulations of OSHA and the EPA as well as the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and Department of Energy (DOE).  This new edition of the Crosswalk also reflects the changes to the standards and elements of performance as a result of The Joint Commission's Standards Improvement Initiative (SII).  The CD-ROM 
								
								enables easy electronic access to the standards and requirements, and 
								facilitates use as a compliance tracking tool.
								It also includes th
								e full-text of the Environment of Care, 
								Emergency Management and Life Safety standards and the associated elements of performance.  An accompanying 30-page Guidebook offers tips and instructions on how best to use the Crosswalk.
								
										
										
								
						
				
		
		
				
						
								
										The 
						
						
								
										Crosswalk
								
						
						
								CD-Rom and Guidebook are available for $149 using item code CWECH09.  
						
				
				
						To order this item, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, weekdays, or visit 
						
								
										www.jcrinc.com
								
						
						.
				
				
						
						
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:38:18 GMT</pubDate>
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				<item>
					<title>JCR Releases Book on Staff Education</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/10/1/JCR-Releases-Book-on-Staff-Education/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — October 1, 2008) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) today announced the publication of its newest book, The Joint Commission Guide to Staff Education, Second Edition.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  
						
				
		
		
				
						
								
										
										
												The Joint Commission Guide to Staff Education, Second Edition provides guidance on accreditation issues related to staff education as well as critical basic and advanced staff education topics. The book includes detailed, up-to-date examinations of today's key topics in health care education, including competency assessments for all staff; orientation; mentoring, coaching and preceptorship; technological advances in learning media; ensuring appropriate budget, resources and administrative support; needs of dying patients and families; organ donation and procurement; and documenting staff education. In addition to advice from experts in the field and examples from organizations that are breaking new ground in health care staff education, the publication includes a CD-ROM with interactive forms and tools. The Joint Commission Guide to Staff Education, Second Edition is available for $99 using order code SEG200. 
								
						
				
		
		
				
						
								
										            To order publications, call JCR Customer Service toll free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, weekdays, or visit 
										
												www.jcrinc.com
										
										.
								
						
				
		
		
				
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:08:08 GMT</pubDate>
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				<item>
					<title>Spotlight on Quality and Safety at Annual &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Ambulatory Care Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/9/4/Spotlight-on-Quality-and-Safety-at-Annual-Ambulatory-Care-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								Conference to Address Competitiveness in the Marketplace
						
				
		
		
				
						
								
										(Oak Brook, Ill. — September 2, 2008) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) announce that the 13th
										
												
														Annual Ambulatory Care Conference
												
										
										: Quality and Safety, The Passwords to Success will be held October 2–3, 2008, and the 
										
												
														Pre Conferences
												
										
										: Bringing You Up to Speed and Sustaining Momentum will be held October 1, 2008, at the Westin River North Hotel, in Chicago, Ill. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  
								
								
										
												"The rapid growth in ambulatory care presents an exciting time for providers, and these conferences present organizations with critical information needed to succeed in their practices" says Michael Kulczycki, MBA, executive director, Ambulatory Care, The Joint Commission. "I encourage ambulatory care providers to join the outstanding group of presenters at this year's conference to explore the issues affecting ambulatory care, including explosive growth, competitive pressure in the marketplace and how the path to quality can improve their bottom line."
								
								
										
												This year's Annual Conference will focus on new Joint Commission initiatives and creating a culture of superior customer service that includes demonstrating quality of care to payers, regulatory agencies and managed care organizations. Attendees will learn from their peers who will lead separate track sessions addressing the special concerns of ambulatory surgery centers, free standing ambulatory care centers and hospital-based ambulatory care. This is a chance to learn from colleagues whose organizations are successfully addressing challenging standards and implementing the National Patient Safety Goals. Attendees will receive a CD-ROM filled with tools and forms that the presenters are already using in their organizations. 
								
								
										
												The keynote address at the Annual Conference will be given by Mark Chassin, MD, MPP, MPH, president, The Joint Commission. Another highlight includes author Kristin Baird, RN, MSN, MHA, who will discuss her book Customer Service in Health Care: A Grassroots Approach to Creating a Culture of Service Excellence, and whether customer service in health care is an oxymoron.
								
								
										
												The pre-conference 
										
												
														Sustaining Momentum 
										
										will focus on Joint Commission initiatives that affect hospital-based ambulatory care organizations, while the pre-conference 
										
												
														Bringing You Up to Speed 
										
										will focus on the needs of free standing ambulatory care and surgery centers. Both pre-conference sessions will focus on the changes to the standards as a result of the Standards Improvement Initiative, survey process updates for 2009, and the 2009 National Patient Safety Goals specific to their audiences.
								
								
										The cost of the pre-conference is $429 per person; after August 30 it increases to $495. The cost of the main conference is $629; after August 31 it increases to $749. A team discount of $595 per person will be given for groups of three or more. To register for a program, please call Customer Service at 877-223-6866, or for more information, or to register online, please visit the 
										
												
														JCR website
												
										
										.
								
						
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:36:58 GMT</pubDate>
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				<item>
					<title>Conferences Prep Hospital Executives on &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Key Accreditation Updates</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/8/27/Conferences-Prep-Hospital-Executives-on-Key-Accreditation-Updates/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								2009 Standards Improvements will be Addressed
						
				
				
						
						
				
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — August 27, 2008) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) announce the 2008 
				
				
						
								Hospital Executive Briefings
						
				
				conferences. The conferences offer leaders an opportunity to stay up-to-date on key changes to The Joint Commission's accreditation process by focusing on the annual changes to the standards, elements of performance and National Patient Safety Goals.
				
						
								The Executive Briefings are focused on educating hospital executives, chief nursing officers, risk managers, quality improvement managers, accreditation managers, patient safety officers, chief medical officers, board members and medical staff members who are involved with accreditation, quality improvement and risk management processes in their hospitals. The conferences are held throughout the country.
				
				
						
								Conference presenters will instruct hospital leaders on how to improve health care outcomes by minimizing risk, explain the connection between the Standards Improvement Initiative and improving organizational performance, outline how to develop plans for dealing with the most challenging National Patient Safety Goals, identify the most challenging standards, and describe the 2009 changes in scoring methodology and post-survey activities.
				
				
						
								Hospital Executive Briefings dates and locations include:
				
				
						
								
										September 5, New York City, registration number 08049BWK
								
						
						
								
										September 12, Dallas, Texas, registration number 08060BWK
								
						
						
								
										September 19, Los Angeles, California, registration number 08061BWK 
								
						
						
								
										
										 
						
				
				
						Hospital Executive Briefings is $610 per person. To register, please call Customer Service at 877-223-6866, or for more information, or to register online, please visit the 
						
								
										JCR website
								
						
						.  
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:38:29 GMT</pubDate>
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				<item>
					<title>Call for Presentations for The Joint Commission &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; 2009 Annual Conference on Quality and Patient Safety</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/9/4/Call-for-Presentations-for-2009-Annual-Conference-on-Quality-and-Patient-Safety/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — August 4, 2008) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources are now accepting proposals for presentations for the 2009 Annual Conference on Quality and Patient Safety.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
				
						
								Presentations at the fall 2009 conference in Chicago, IL, should focus on practitioner-based, solutions-oriented improvements and success stories. The focus of the session should include new processes, technologies, techniques and/or tools, and creative and innovative ideas on quality and safety that have achieved sustained improvement.  All proposals should be submitted for consideration by October 31, 2008.
				
				
						
								Presentation proposals must be submitted via online registration available at 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/30439/
								
						
						. Additional information about the proposal guidelines can be found at 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/29666/
								
						
						.  Questions may be e-mailed to 
						
								
										natlconf2009@jcrinc.com
								
						
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:56:24 GMT</pubDate>
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				<item>
					<title>Combating Health Care Worker Fatigue</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/7/31/Combating-Health-Care-Worker-Fatigue/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								New JCR Book Provides Tips on Recognizing, Preventing Effects of Fatigue
						
				
				
						(Oak Brook, Ill. — July 31, 2008) Fatigue among health care workers is known to lower production and increase the risk of errors, as well as lead to higher absenteeism, personnel turnover and health care costs. Strategies for Addressing Health Care Worker Fatigue a new publication from Joint Commission Resources (JCR), offers health care organizations practical strategies for addressing this important health care topic. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  
				
				
						
								
										Strategies for Addressing Health Care Worker Fatigue outlines how important proper rest is for health care workers' safety, the safety of their patients and for an organization's bottom line. This new book helps readers identify those at risk for fatigue and burnout (including risk managers, hospital administration and health care workers), provides tips on how to rehabilitate a fatigued health care worker, and offers information on how to prevent staff burnout. The book discusses how changes in shifts and increased overtime affect staff energy levels and offers tips to help workers combat fatigue and come back from burnout. Case studies provide examples of organizations that are using creative ways to combat this problem. 
						
				
				
						
								
										Strategies for Addressing Health Care Worker Fatigue is available for $75 using order code SAHC08. To order this publication, call JCR Customer Service toll free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, weekdays, or visit 
						
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						.
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:08:59 GMT</pubDate>
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				<item>
					<title>Annual Infection Prevention and Control Conference </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/9/4/Annual-Infection-Prevention-and-Control-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — July 30, 2008) Clinicians and administrators are challenged every day to improve the quality of health care. One of the most daunting challenges is to reduce instances of medical harm due to infections.  Reducing health care-associated infections through good practices is critical to keeping patients safe and controlling costs.  This will be the focus of the September 18-19 Annual Infection Control Conference: Channeling Infection Control Practices into Sustainable Solutions, convened by The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) in Chicago.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
				
						
								
										Participants at the national conference will learn how to transform successful strategies into sustainable solutions and showcase organizations that have made significant improvements to minimize health care-acquired infections. This conference will focus on the role of the infection control practitioner in controlling infection and improving organizational processes for infection control. Topics will range from infection prevention and performance improvement, to patient safety and environmental design. Best health care delivery practices will be presented, and will include strategies to drive risk assessments and tactics to address multi-drug resistant organisms. Attendees will receive a take-home CD with tools, checklists, forms and policies for use in their specific care settings. 
						
				
				
						
								This conference is tailored for an audience of infection prevention and control professionals, physicians, epidemiologists and health care professionals who are involved in the prevention, management and treatment of diseases within their health care organizations. 
				
				
						The Infection Control pre-conference: Navigating the New 2009 Joint Commission Infection Control Standards for IC Success will be held on September 17, in Chicago.  The pre-conference will focus on developing, implementing and evaluating an organization's infection control program based on The Joint Commission's revised 2009 Infection Prevention and Control Standards. 
				
				
						
								The registration fee for the main conference is $695; after August 19 it increases to $749. Teams of three or more receive a reduced price of $625 per person. When registering for the main conference use code 08077.  The registration fee for the pre-conference is $395; after August 18 it increases to $495.  When registering for the pre-conference please use code 08076. To register for either program, please call Customer Service at 877-223-6866, or for more information, or to register online, please visit the 
						
								
										JCR website
								
						
						.  
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:11:17 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Call for Presentations for 2009 Hospital-Acquired &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Conditions Conference</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/7/21/Call-for-Presentations-for-2009-Hospital-Acquired-Conditions-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — July 21, 2008) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) are now accepting proposals for presentations for the 2009 conference Hospital-Acquired Conditions: Solutions to Achieve Clinical and Financial Success.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
				
						           Proposals for presentations at the spring 2009 conference should include practitioner-based, change-focused best practices. The focus of the session should be on new processes, technologies, techniques and/or tools, and creative and innovative ideas that have achieved sustained improvements in preventing hospital acquired conditions. All proposals should be submitted for consideration by August 30, 2008.
				
				
						
								            Presentation proposals must be submitted via online registration found at 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/30442/
								
						
						.
						 
						
								Confirmation of receipt of your submission will be sent via e-mail. Questions may be e-mailed to 
						
						
								
										neverevents2009@jcrinc.com
								
						
						. Additional information about the conference and proposal guidelines can be found at 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/29666/
								
						
						.
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:18:55 GMT</pubDate>
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				<item>
					<title>Suicide Prevention Conference Call for Presentations</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/7/16/Suicide-Prevention-Conference-Call-for-Presentations/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — July 16, 2008) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources are now accepting proposals for presentations for the 2009 Suicide Prevention: Solutions for Results conference.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
				
						
								Presentations at the winter 2009 conference should focus on practitioner-based, change-focused practices. The focus of the presentation should include new processes, technologies, techniques and/or tools, and creative and innovative ideas used to achieve sustained improvements in suicide prevention. 
				
				
						
								Presentation proposals must be submitted via an online registration form available at 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/30443/
								
						
						.
						
								
										  Additional information about the proposal guidelines can be found at 
						
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/29666/
								
						
						
								. The deadline for submission is August 16, 2008.  Questions may be e-mailed to
						
						
								
										suicideprev2009@jcrinc.com
								
						
						.
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:20:25 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Call for Proposals for 2009 Pediatric &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Safety Symposium</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/7/15/Call-for-Proposals-for-2009-Pediatric-Safety-Symposium/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						(Oak Brook, Ill. — July 15, 2008) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources are now accepting proposals for presentations for the 2009 Pediatric Safety Symposium.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
		
		
				
						
								
										Presentations at the summer 2009 conference should focus on practitioner-based, change-focused practices. The focus of the presentation should include new processes, technologies, techniques and/or tools, and creative and innovative ideas used in the pediatric setting to achieve sustained improvements in quality and patient safety. 
								
								
										
												Presentation proposals must be submitted via an online registration form available at 
										
												
														http://www.jcrinc.com/30441/
												
										
										.
										
												 Additional information about the conference and proposal guidelines can be found at 
										
										
												
														http://www.jcrinc.com/29666/
												
										
										. The deadline for submission is August 30, 2008. Questions may be e-mailed to pediatricconf2009@jcrinc.com.
								
						
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:23:14 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Call for Presentations for 2009 Annual Ambulatory Care&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Conference </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/7/15/Call-for-Presentations-for-2009-Annual-Ambulatory-Care-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — July 15, 2008) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) are now accepting proposals for presentations for the 2009 Annual Ambulatory Care Conference.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
				
						          Presentations at the fall 2009 conference in Chicago, IL, should focus on practitioner-based, solutions-oriented improvements. The focus of the presentation should be new processes, technologies, techniques and/or tools, and creative and innovative ideas that have achieved sustained improvement within the ambulatory care setting. All proposals should be submitted for consideration by November 1, 2008.
				
				
						
								Presentation proposals must be submitted via an online registration form available at 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/30444/
								
						
						. Additional information about the proposal guidelines can be found at 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/29666/
								
						
						. Questions may be submitted to: 
						
								
										ambulatoryconf2009@jcrinc.com
								
						
						.
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:21:48 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Call for Proposals for 2009 Emergency &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Preparedness Conference </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/7/14/Call-for-Proposals-for-2009-Emergency-Preparedness-Conference/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — July 14, 2008) The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources are now accepting proposals for presentations for the 2009 Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
				
						
								Presentations at the April 2009 conference, in Washington, D.C., should focus on practitioner-based, change-focused practices. The focus of the presentation should include new processes, technologies, techniques and/or tools, and creative and innovative ideas used for emergency preparedness. The presentation should demonstrate a successful approach to at least one of the four phases of emergency preparedness (mitigation, preparation, response and recovery), and relate to the Joint Commission's standards. 
				
				
						
								Presentation proposals must be submitted via an online registration form available at 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/29669/
								
						
						.
						
						
						
								
										  Additional information about the proposal guidelines can be found at 
						
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/29666/
								
						
						
								.  The deadline for submission is July 31, 2008.  Questions may be e-mailed to 
						
						
								
										eprep2009@jcrinc.com
								
						
						.
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:37:22 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Releases Books on Environment of Care, &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; National Patient Safety Goal</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/7/10/JCR-Releases-Books-on-Environment-of-Care-National-Patient-Safety-Goal/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				(Oak Brook, Ill. — July 10, 2008) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) announces the publication of two books, Environment of Care® Risk Assessment and Reducing the Risk of Patient Harm Resulting from Falls: Toolkit for Implementing National Patient Safety Goal 9. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  
		
				
						
								
										            
								Whether the risk issue is infant and pediatric abduction, infection control during construction, fire safety, or potential disaster emergencies, Environment of Care® Risk Assessment guides organizations through a basic risk assessment process and suggests potential high-profile, high-risk areas for consideration. Performing risk assessments can help organizations ensure the safety of patients, staff and visitors in addition to complying with accreditation requirements, meeting OSHA regulations and avoiding fines. The book explains how to use existing standards tools such as the Periodic Performance Review, Interim Life Safety Measures, the hazard vulnerability analysis and more. Case studies, examples and worksheets for assessing and minimizing risk are included, along with a CD-ROM with interactive risk assessment forms. Environment of Care® Risk Assessment is available for $99 using order code ECRA-08.
				
		
		
				           Preventing patient falls and related injuries continues to be a significant challenge for many health care organizations. An aging population and staffing shortages can be obstacles for any fall reduction initiative. The challenge becomes greater when individuals who are at risk of falling might not know to share or forget to communicate that information with staff members before an incident occurs. Reducing the Risk of Patient Harm Resulting from Falls: Toolkit for Implementing National Patient Safety Goal 9 can help health care organizations design or modify a fall reduction initiative based on the population it serves, the services it provides, and its environment of care. The toolkit includes an implementation guide that offers strategies and how-to information related to assessment and reassessment techniques to identify at-risk individuals; effective interventions to reduce fall risk factors; patient education; staff training; and consistent evaluation and use of data on falls to make changes. Readers will also learn how five health care organizations made improvements and created multifaceted programs to reduce falls. The implementation guide includes a companion CD-ROM with video clips, forms, worksheets and other tools from the book that an organization can customize and use for its own falls reduction initiative. Reducing the Risk of Patient Harm Resulting from Falls: Toolkit for Implementing National Patient Safety Goal 9is available for $199 using order code RPR-08.
		
		
				            To order publications, call JCR Customer Service toll free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, weekdays, or visit 
				
						
								http://www.jcrinc.com/
						
				
				.
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:40:21 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Eleven JCR Books Listed in Doody’s Core Titles 2008</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/6/30/Eleven-JCR-Books-Listed-in-Doody’s-Core-Titles-2008/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								
										(Oak Brook, Ill. — June 30, 2008) Eleven books published by Joint Commission Resources are listed in "Doody's Core Titles in Health Sciences 2008."  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
						
				
				
						
								"Doody's Core Titles in Health Sciences" are selected each year by almost 200 content specialists and librarians.  The Doody's list helps medical, nursing and allied health librarians around the world make the book-buying decisions for their libraries. The list suggests core titles that represent essential knowledge needed by professionals or students in a given discipline.
				
				
						
								JCR titles listed as "Doody's Core Titles in Health Sciences 2008" are:
				
				
						
								
										
												Best Practices in Infection Control: An International Handbook, edited by Barbara Moore Soule, R.N., M.P.A., C.I.C., and Ziad A. Memish, M.D., F.R.C.P.C.,
								
						
						
								F.A.C.P., C.I.C., F.I.D. S.A.
						
						
								
										Getting Results: Reliably Communicating and Acting on Critical Test Results, edited by Gordon D. Schiff, M.D.
						
						
								
										Infection Control Issues in the Environment of Care
								
						
						
								
										Meeting JCAHO's Infection Control Requirements: A Priority Focus Area
								
						
						
								
										Patients as Partners: How to Involve Patients and Families in Their Own Care
								
						
						
								
										Staff Education Tools for the National Patient Safety Goals
								
						
						
								
										Standards for Ambulatory Care
								
						
						
								
										The APIC/JCAHO Infection Control Workbook, edited by Kathleen Meehan Arias, M.S., C.I.C., and Barbara Moore Soule, R.N., M.P.A., C.I.C.
						
						
								
										The Joint Commission Guide to Patient and Family Education, 2nd Edition
						
						
								
										The Nurse's Role in Medication Safety, edited by Laura Cima, R.N., and Sean Clarke, R.N.
						
						
								
										Timing is Everything: Strategies for Reducing Delays in Patient Care
								
						
						
								
								
						
				
				
						To order, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or visit 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						.
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:00:55 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Medication Safety Symposium Presented by &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/6/26/Medication-Safety-Symposium-Presented-by-The-Joint-Commission-and-Joint-Commission-Resources/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — June  26, 2008) Medication errors in the health care environment can occur anytime there is a communication breakdown, but they are preventable if everyone on the patient care team learns to work together. To address this issue The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) are hosting a Medication Safety Symposium: Teaming up for Medication Management and Systems Improvement, August 5–7, 2008, in Chicago, IL. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
				
						            The symposium will focus on the tools that a health care team needs to succeed in the struggle against medication errors. It will benefit anyone involved in the six processes of medication management, including selection and procurement, storage, ordering and transcribing, preparing and dispensing, administration, and monitoring. In particular, it is intended for those responsible for medication safety in their organizations, including pharmacists, nurses, physicians, patient safety officers, and risk management professionals.
				
				
						            Participants will learn firsthand about the issues that lead to medication errors and share the latest strategies to circumvent or eliminate these issues. They will also learn proven approaches from experienced practitioners who are effectively managing medication safety in their own organizations.      
				
				
						            The agenda includes tracks for ambulatory, in-patient organizations, technology and pediatrics. Specialty sessions are offered for oncology and emergency departments. The plenary sessions include: "Using Data to Drive Decision Making;" "Patient Literacy and Medication Safety;" and "The Role of the FDA and Watchdog Agencies in Medication Safety." 
				
				
						            Attendees will receive a CD-ROM filled with tools to guide them in transforming their organizations' medication safety practices after the symposium. The tools address processes and policies, high-alert medications, adverse drug events, front line leadership, pharmacists in the emergency department, anticoagulants, and medication reconciliation.  To view the entire list of tools please click 
						
								
										here.
								
						
				
				
						            Continuing education credits are available for participation in this symposium. The applicable hours are as follows: ACCME: 17; ANCC: 17; ACHE: 17; California Board of Registered Nursing: 17.  Full attendance at every session is a prerequisite for receiving full continuing education credits. 
				
				
						            The symposium is $995 per registrant. The early bird fee is $895 per registrant and expires 30 days before the program. A team discount for groups of three or more is $795 per registrant.  When registering for the symposium use program code 08075.
				
				
						           For more information on this symposium or to register, call JCR Customer Service toll free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, weekdays, visit 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						or click 
						
								
										here.
								
						
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:03:16 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Partners with MC Strategies to Distribute &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Online Education Courses</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/6/24/JCR-Partners-with-MC-Strategies-to-Distribute-Online-Education-Courses/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — June 24, 2008) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and MC Strategies are partnering to offer selected education courses online, further expanding the online learning options for their clients -- busy health care professionals looking to fulfill their continuing education requirements.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  MC Strategies, an Elsevier company, is a leader in e-learning solutions for health care professionals.
				
				
						            These online courses delivered through MC Strategies' Learning Management System (LMS) are available for licensing as a series of courses and are included in the MC Strategies course library utilized by more than 1,500 health care organizations.
				
				
						            The easy-to-use course design features both audio and video-formats. It gives participants the opportunity to control the pace at which they learn by allowing them to log on to their computer and complete the work when it's most convenient. For courses offering continuing education credit, participants instantly receive their credits after successful completion of the course. Additionally, the LMS maintains a record for six years of each course completed by participants and the continuing education credits earned. 
				
				
						           "This partnership makes learning with JCR convenient by providing another way for us to reach our busy customers," says Charles Macfarlane, F.A.C.H.E., C.A.E., vice president for Learning, JCR. "We are eager to launch the new program and will be adding additional courses to the library in the next few months." 
				
				
						           "We partnered with JCR to distribute their courses in order to meet our current and new customers' need for information about The Joint Commission's standards and processes," says Barbara Nelson Cullen, vice president, Healthcare e-Learning, MC Strategies. "What makes our program unique is that we offer this bundle of lessons that is readily available to meet the needs of health care professionals who must fit professional development into their busy work schedules."
				
				
						Current course offerings include:
				
				
						
								
								
						
						
								Who's on Your Staff? Credentialing and Privileging: The Fundamentals*
						
						
								Turning Data into Useful Information*
						
						
								Environment of Care: Fire Safety
						
						
								Accreditation Update: S3
						
						
								Environment of Care: Utilities and Clinical Engineering
						
						
								Challenging Standards in Hospital Accreditation
						
						
								It's a Long Way Down: Reducing the Risk of Patient Falls*
						
						
								Patient Safety on the Line: Using Technology to Aid Effective Communication Among Caregivers*
						
				
				
						            *Continuing education credits offered.
				
				
						            
				
				
						For more information about these courses please call, 800.999.6274 or visit 
						
								
										http://www.mcstrategies.com/
								
						
						.
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:04:42 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Publishes Book on Preventing &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; High-Alert Medication Errors</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/6/3/JCR-Publishes-Book-on-Preventing-High-Alert-Medication-Errors/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						(Oak Brook, Ill. — June 3, 2008) Medication errors harm an estimated 1.5 million people and result in several thousand deaths annually, according to the Institute of Medicine. While there is some risk involved with all medications, certain medications identified as high-alert medications are known to have devastating effects when used incorrectly. High-Alert Medications: Strategies for Improving Safety, a new book from Joint Commission Resources (JCR), can help health care organizations reduce the risk of high-alert medication errors.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  
				
						          This book demonstrates how high-alert medications can be made safer by improving the processes of selection and procurement, storage, ordering and transcribing, preparation and dispensing, administering, and monitoring.  High-Alert Medications Strategies for Improving Safety also offers methods for educating caregivers and patients on the use of high-alert medications. Additional topics covered include:
				
				
						
								
								
						
						
								
										Reasons and benefits of using both high-alert medications such as anticoagulants, sedatives, narcotics and insulin, and high-alert processes such as chemotherapy, compounded sterile products and pediatric medications
								
						
						
								Potential side effects of high-risk medications
						
						
								Importance of follow-up monitoring
						
				
				
						Compliance issues
				
				
						
								Dietary restrictions
						
						
								Potential for drug interactions and
						
						
								Safety precautions
						
				
				
						           High-Alert Medications: Strategies for Improving Safety is available for $75 using order code HAM08. To order this book, call JCR Customer Service toll free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, weekdays, or visit 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						.
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:06:28 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Releases Tool Kit to Prevent &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Errors in  Handoff Communications</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/5/27/JCR-Releases-Tool-Kit-to-Prevent-Errors-in-Handoff-Communications/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				(Oak Brook, Ill. — May 27, 2008) When information is missing or incorrect during a patient handoff, the consequences can be tragic.  
		
				            A "handoff" is the process of transferring care for a patient from one caregiver to another.  The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goal 2E requires organizations to create a standardized approach to handoff communications, including an opportunity to ask and respond to questions.  Handoff Communications: Toolkit for Implementing the National Patient Safety Goal, a new product from Joint Commission Resources (JCR), will help health care organizations use proven handoff practices to reduce the risk of medical errors and comply with the National Patient Safety Goal.  JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  
		
		
				            The tool kit provides practical strategies for health care organization management and staff, and includes the following: 
		
		
				
						A guide that presents strategies for implementing proper handoff communication processes and techniques, tips for assessing current processes, and case studies that provide real-world examples of effective handoff practices.  
				
				
						
						
				
				
						A CD-ROM that includes handouts, worksheets, videos, forms, and three slide presentations: "The Importance of Standardizing Handoff Communications," "Using Techniques and Tools from Other Organizations," and "Creating or Customizing Handoff Communications Techniques that Work in Your Organization."   
				
		
		
				      Handoff Communications: Toolkit for Implementing the National Patient Safety Goal is available for $199 using order code HOCT08.
		
		
				To order this tool kit, call JCR Customer Service toll free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, weekdays, or visit 
				
						
								http://www.jcrinc.com/
						
				
				.
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2008 16:09:16 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Performance Measurement, Tracer Methodology &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; the Focus of JCR Published Books</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/5/5/Performance-Measurement-Tracer-Methodology-the-Focus-of-JCR-Published-Books/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
						(Oak Brook, Ill. — May 5, 2008) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) offers two new books, Tools for Performance Measurement in Health Care: A Quick Reference Guide, Second Edition and Tracer Methodology: Tips and Strategies for Continuous Systems Improvement, Second Edition. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.  
				
				
						
								
										
												          Tools for Performance Measurement in Health Care: A Quick Reference Guide, Second Edition
										provides a wide range of data collection tools and explanations on use—from basic to complex—and tells organizations how, when, and why to use the tools. This book includes strategies, tips, and forms that can be used or adapted for collecting and evaluating data in various health care settings and patient care populations. In addition, the book and accompanying CD-ROM offer step-by-step instructions on how to implement tools for systems analysis and include practical, printable forms to help health care organizations use performance measurement tools for many processes. Tools for Performance Measurement in Health Care: A Quick Reference Guide, Second Edition is available for $99 using order code TPMHC200.
						
				
				
						            Tracer Methodology: Tips and Strategies for Continuous Systems Improvement, Second Edition provides health care organizations with new, practical tracer examples and hands-on tools for understanding and conducting tracers in any health care setting. Since tracer methodology remains an integral part of The Joint Commission's on-site survey process, this extensively updated edition offers a new comprehensive overview of the tracer methodology. New examples of tracers are written from a surveyor's perspective to show you how to conduct your own. A new chapter explains program-specific tracers and includes sample tracer questions. Domestic and international organizations also share how they have used tracer methodology and data to make improvements at their facilities.
				
				
						
								A companion CD-ROM contains worksheets that can be customized by any size health care organization and video clips showing how to conduct tracer interviews with staff members and patients. Tracer Methodology: Tips and Strategies for Continuous Systems Improvement, Second Edition with CD-ROM is available for $99 using order code JTM08.
				
				
						
								To order publications, call JCR Customer Service toll free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, weekdays, or visit 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						.  
				
				
						at 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.org/
								
						
						  
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 05 May 2008 16:36:04 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Introduces Medication Reconciliation &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Consulting Service</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/4/14/JCR-Introduces-Medication-Reconciliation-Consulting-Service/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — April 14, 2008) Joint Commission Resources (JCR) today announced the launch of its Medication Reconciliation Consulting Service, a new consulting product in partnership with Simpler HealthcareSM. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
				
						
								Medication errors are a persistent concern in the U.S. From September 2004 to July 2005, United States Pharmacopeia received 2,022 reports of medication reconciliation errors. In addition, The Joint Commission's Sentinel Event Database includes reports of more than 350 medication errors resulting in death or major injury. Of those, 63 percent related, at least in part, to breakdowns in communication, and approximately half of those would have been avoided through effective medication reconciliation—a process used to prevent medication errors by comparing a patient's medication orders to all of the medications that the patient has been taking. 
				
				
						
								Improving an organization's medication reconciliation process not only improves patient safety, it can also improve the organization's bottom line. Adverse drug events add approximately $8,750 to the cost of a patient's hospital stay, according to the Institute of Medicine report, Preventing Medication Errors.
				
				
						The goal of JCR and Simpler Healthcare'sSM Medication Reconciliation Consulting Service is to create a process that continually strives towards zero defects, using Lean methodology. This consulting program offers immediate short-term improvements in the medication reconciliation process and teaches organizations how to instill those changes for long-term sustainability.
				
				
						
								"Effective medication reconciliation is an integral part of mitigating risk to patients," says Karen H. Timmons, president and CEO, JCR. "JCR is pleased to partner with Simpler HealthcareSM to bring organizations this important innovative tool for improving patient safety by leveraging JCR's expertise in medication safety with Simpler's Lean expertise." 
				
				
						
								
								
						
				
				
						
								"Simpler HealthcareSM is very pleased to lend our Lean transformation methodology to the challenging, critical-to-quality process of Medication Reconciliation," says Marc S. Hafer, president Simpler Holdings, Inc.  "Our partnership with JCR's experts in clinical coaching has produced a winning approach to eliminating errors related to unreconciled medications, adverse drug events, and the patient harm that results in the absence of standardized work." 
				
				
						The expert consultants from JCR and Simpler HealthcareSM will guide clients by using a step-by-step process to assess the current state of their medication reconciliation process, perform strategic improvements to the process and confirm that the improvements have been sustained. They will do this by identifying the root causes of errors, creating and implementing plans to remove waste and increase patient safety, and coaching the process owners on how to achieve continuous improvement and sustainability. 
				
				
						
								The partnership of JCR and SimplerHealthcareSM merges JCR's proven clinical expertise and knowledge of medication systems with the expertise of Simpler HealthcareSM in system-wide transformation in health care. The result is fewer medication errors, a reduction in the potential for patient injury, and the development of a sustainable cycle of continuous improvement.
				
				
						For more information about JCR medication reconciliation consulting please call 630.268.7400 or visit 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						.
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:10:34 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Nurses Strategize the Future of Their Profession</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/4/9/Nurses-Strategize-the-Future-of-Their-Profession/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								JCR Symposium to Examine Nursing Practice 
						
				
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — April 9, 2008) Organizations that want to improve employee loyalty and build a quality nursing program will hear from experts at Joint Commission Resource's (JCR) Nursing Practice Symposium: Honoring the Past, Transforming the Future, scheduled for May 21-22, 2008, in Chicago, IL. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
				
						           JCR and members of The Joint Commission's Nursing Advisory Council collaborated to create this symposium that addresses retention issues and promotes solutions in nursing practice. Experts on stress management, job safety, and creating opportunities for continuing nursing education are among the people who will lead conference workshops. The conference offers professional learning opportunities along with inspirational sessions, designed to rekindle nurses' passion for their profession. Faculty will present real-world-tested best practices as well as provide tools and strategies that participants can use immediately upon returning to the work setting.
				
				
						            Catherine Rick, C.N.A.A., F.A.C.H.E., chief officer, Office of Nursing, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, will discuss the internal and external forces influencing nursing in the U.S. and what the future may hold for the profession. Registered nurses are the largest segment of health care workers within the Department of Veteran's Affairs, and yet the nurse turnover rate is only 8.3 percent, compared with an estimated 20 percent national average. 
				
				
						            Jeanette Michalak, M.S.N., A.P.R.N., B.C., vice president, Consultation Services, Plantree, will talk about designing, embracing and implementing patient centered care in a comprehensive manner, and supporting the professional and personal aspirations of staff members.
						         
				
				
						At the end of this conference, participants will be able to:
				
				
						
								Describe the current state of nursing care, strategic directions and actions to improve safety
						
						
								Analyze methods to enhance the collaborative care model that works best for their setting
						
						
								Evaluate and apply evidence-based practices and care approaches designed for improving patient care, quality and safety and workforce demands and
						
						
								Examine tenets of and advocate for nursing practice change             
				
				
						            The cost to attend the conference is $795 per person, $695 for early registration which expires 30 days before the program, and $650 per person for teams of three or more. To register call JCR Customer Service toll free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, weekdays, or visit 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						. 
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:11:36 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Quality Solutions for Perioperative Care </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/4/3/Quality-Solutions-for-Perioperative-Care/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								JCR Symposium to Examine Issues Surrounding Surgical Patient Care
						
				
				
						
						
				
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — April 3, 2008) Being a good communicator is an essential tool for health care providers who want to improve care in the pre- and postoperative environment. Joint Commission Resources (JCR) is hosting a perioperative care symposium that will explore ways to foster and enhance an interdisciplinary approach to perioperative care, which can lead to improved communication, teamwork, and safer patient care.
				
				
						            The Perioperative Care Symposium: Improving Methods, Behaviors, and Measures for Transforming Perioperative Care, is scheduled for April 29–30, 2008, in Chicago, IL. A post conference titled Worker Safety in Perioperative Services will be held May 1, 2008. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
				
				
						            In preparation for this symposium, JCR collaborated with the Council on Surgical and Perioperative Safety, a multidisciplinary coalition of professional organizations whose members are involved in the care of surgical patients. Together they identified solutions and best practices from leading authorities and practitioners on perioperative safety to improve the care of surgical patients. 
				
				
						            Attendees will receive a complimentary CD-ROM with tools to assist them in implementing the strategies presented at the symposium and a complimentary copy of the JCR publication, Compliance with the Universal Protocol: The 12 Steps to Cultural Change in the OR.
				
				
						            At the end of this conference, participants will be able to:
				
				
						
								Describe the current state of perioperative safety and prioritize strategies for improvement within their organization
						
				
				
						
								Analyze methods to enhance the interdisciplinary care model that works best for their setting
						
						
								Evaluate and apply interdisciplinary approaches designed for specialty patients
						
						
								Examine tenets of and advocate for medication safety in the perioperative area and
						
						
								Investigate causes of surgical and anesthesia misadventures as a means to develop preventive processes
						
				
				
						            The cost to attend the main conference is $749 per person, $675 for early registration, which expires 30 days before the program, $625 per person for teams of three or more, and $600 per person for government employees.  The post conference fee is $395 per person or $375 for government employees. To register call JCR Customer Service toll free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, weekdays, or visit 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						. 
				
				
						
						
				
		
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					<pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:13:12 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>New Book Details the Sentinel Event Process &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; for Health Care Organizations</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/3/24/New-Book-Details-the-Sentinel-Event-Process-for-Health-Care-Organizations/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								
										Learn Strategies for Preventing and Analyzing Sentinel Events
								
						
				
				
						
								(OAK BROOK, Illinois, USA — March 24, 2008) A health care organization's first aim is to do no harm. However, when a sentinel event (an unexpected event involving death or serious physical injury) or adverse event (an unanticipated, undesirable, or potentially dangerous occurrence in a health care organization) occurs, an opportunity to learn and prevent future recurrences—without blaming those caregivers involved with the error—presents itself.  
				
				
						            Hospitals and health care organizations around the world can learn to avoid or mitigate medical errors by reading Understanding and Preventing Sentinel and Adverse Events in Your Health Care Organization,a new book from Joint Commission International (JCI) and Joint Commission Resources (JCR). JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission and JCI is a division of JCR. 
				
				
						            Readers of Understanding and Preventing Sentinel and Adverse Events in Your Health Care Organization, will learn what a sentinel and adverse events are, how they differ from a near miss, how sentinel and adverse events may be prevented, and how they should be reported and responded to. Hospitals and other health care organizations currently accredited by JCI or interested in pursuing JCI accreditation will learn the requirements of JCI's Sentinel Event Policy and how to develop and enforce a Sentinel Event Policy in their organization. 
				
				
						            Processes covered in the book include identifying types of sentinel and adverse events, developing a root cause analysis and action plan following the analysis of a sentinel event, and how sentinel events are reviewed during an accreditation survey.
				
				
						            Understanding and Preventing Sentinel and Adverse Events in Your Health Care Organization is available for $85 using order code UPSE08. To order, call JCR Customer Service toll free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, weekdays, or visit 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						. Outside of the U.S. please call (770) 238-0454. 
				
				
						
						
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:14:46 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Releases Updated Guide to Documentation &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; in Behavioral Health Care</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/3/12/JCR-Releases-Updated-Guide-to-Documentation-in-Behavioral-Health-Care/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								
										Sample Electronic Forms and Examples are Included
								
						
				
				
						
								
										(OAK BROOK, Illinois, USA — March 12, 2008) Documentation is a key method of communication in a behavioral health care organization; the more precise and comprehensive it is the less chance there is for error in treatment.
						
				
				
						
								
										
												            A Practical Guide to Documentation in Behavioral Health Care, Third Edition, a new book from Joint Commission Resources (JCR), was developed to help providers document care events more efficiently and effectively. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission. 
						
				
				
						            This book is intended to assist leaders in improving documentation organization-wide and caregivers wanting to improve their documentation skills. It includes the latest information in documenting behavioral health care treatment in a wide variety of settings. It shows providers that weak documentation is a waste of valuable time and does nothing to improve care, treatment, or service. Weak documentation can also diminish the quality of care by compelling skilled providers to devote inordinate time and energy trying to either clarify or understand what has been written or not written. A companion CD-ROM includes an array of interactive forms for use in behavioral health organizations.
				
				
						            This updated edition includes:
				
				
						
								Sample forms and examples included in CD-ROM format, representing a broad spectrum of behavioral health care organizations
						
						
								New material and discussion on coding and reimbursement, privacy and security in documentation, client safety and documentation, and accreditation-related requirements
						
				
				
						
								Enhanced and/or newly added content on the principles of good and precise documentation, electronic records, performance improvement, and documentation in specific situations for specific types of health care settings and
						
						
								New case examples from organizations on how they are using documentation to enhance their ongoing delivery of care treatment and services
						
				
				
						            A Practical Guide to Documentation in Behavioral Health Care, Third Edition is available for $99 using order code BH600. To order, call JCR Customer Service toll free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, weekdays, or visit 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						. 
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:16:13 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Releases Updated Guide to Environment of Care </title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/3/6/JCR-Releases-Updated-Guide-to-Environment-of-Care/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								From Fire Safety to Air Quality, This Book Leads Organizations 
						
				
				
						
								Through the Facilities Management Maze 
						
				
				
						
								(Oak Brook, Ill. — March 6, 2008) Patients and their families go to a health care organization for healing but, in order for that to happen, they need to be in an environment that is properly designed, maintained and secured. 
				
				
						            One way a health care organization can ensure patients and clients receive the best care in the safest possible environment is by complying with The Joint Commission's Management of the Environment of Care (EC) standards. Environment of Care® Essentials, Eighth Edition, published by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), helps EC professionals navigate the EC standards and prepare their facilities and staff for maximum functionality. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission. 
				
				
						            This book provides a comparison matrix for the 2008 EC standards across all accreditation programs. At one glance, users can see all the EC standards and elements of performance that apply to each program. The book also includes step-by-step information on how to complete the electronic Statement of Conditions, describes the Life Safety Code®(LSC) portion of The Joint Commission accreditation survey, and provides the latest information on correctly interpreting and effectively meeting the revised Emergency Management standards. It also includes a CD featuring the EC standards crosswalk and an interactive self-assessment checklist.
				
				
						
								Topics covered in this book include:
				
				
						
								A comparison matrix for the newly revised 2008 EC standards across all accreditation programs
						
						
								Using the electronic Statement of Conditions to manage buildings
						
				
				
						
								Understanding areas of interest to the Life Safety Code® Specialist
						
						
								An interactive self-assessment checklist for the hospital accreditation program
						
						
								Scoring information for the Life Safety Code® portion of the survey and
						
						
								Meeting the revised emergency management standards
						
				
				
						            This book is an invaluable tool for managers in charge of multiple facilities. It helps EC professionals understand their role in the accreditation process and teaches them how to maintain continuous compliance with the EC standards.
				
				
						
								
								Environment of Care Essentials, Eighth Edition is available for $129 using order code ECE-08. To order, call JCR Customer Service toll free at 877.223.6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, weekdays, or visit 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						. 
				
		
]]></description> 
					<pubDate>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:18:47 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Conference Spotlights Emergency Preparedness</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/3/6/Conference-Spotlights-Emergency-Preparedness/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						
								
										Featured Case Studies will Include Three Unforeseen Tragedies of 2007 
								
						
				
				
						
								(OAK BROOK, Illinois, USA — March 6, 2008) Their health care organizations were unexpectedly thrown into emergency response mode last year—including the crash in Atlanta of the bus carrying the Bluffton University Baseball Team; the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, MN; and the destructive San Diego County wildfires—now they have invaluable lessons learned to share.
				
				
						
								Representatives from the health care organizations that were involved in responding to these disasters will tell their stories at The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources' (JCR) 2008 Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference: Practical Approaches to Health Care Disaster Preparedness, April 8-9, 2008, in Alexandria, Virginia. The panel of six featured speakers also includes experts in pandemic planning and guidelines for nuclear, biological and chemical terrorist attacks. 
				
				
						
								Because every health care organization and community are unique in the emergencies they face and the resources they possess, this conference will provide the foundation and tools from which participants can build and enhance their state of readiness. The conference is geared towards hospital emergency staff, safety officers, medical directors, security directors, facilities managers, operations directors, emergency response planners, trauma nurse coordinators and Joint Commission coordinators.
				
				
						Participants in this conference will gain practical knowledge from organizations with successful strategies and approaches to meeting the 2008 Emergency Management standards, and they will receive a CD of tools addressing the six areas of focus for possible implementation.
				
				
						            Each phase of emergency preparedness will be addressed with opportunities to customize the learning experience through specific breakout sessions on key topics related to emergency preparedness. An expanded pre-conference seminar will address the new 2008 Emergency Management standards.  
				
				
						            The registration fee for the main conference is $695; the program code is 08069. The early bird fee of $650 expires 30 days prior to the conference. Groups of three or more receive a discounted per person rate of $550. The pre-conference seminar April 7 is $495, and a discount of $395 is offered when combined with the main conference. The program code is BVB. To register, please call 877.223.6866, or more information visit 
						
								
										http://www.jcrinc.com/
								
						
						.
				
		
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					<pubDate>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:17:37 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>JCR Now Offering Online Education Courses</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/2/21/JCR-Now-Offering-Online-Education-Courses/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						(Oak Brook, Ill.— February 21, 2008) Traveling is no longer a prerequisite for attending Joint Commission Resources (JCR) education programs. JCR's new Learning Management System makes it possible to offer selected courses online. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
		
		
				            This learning alternative will serve administrators, support personnel and health care workers with courses that meet their needs. Upcoming topics include accreditation, Environment of Care, infection control and patient safety. These online courses are developed with the content expertise of Joint Commission surveyors, JCR consultants and internal and external experts of The Joint Commission to ensure they provide the most up-to-date and accurate information.
		
		
				            This easy-to-use system features both audio- and video-based courses. It gives participants the opportunity to control the pace at which they learn by allowing them to log on to their computer and complete the work when it's most convenient. For courses offering continuing education credit participants will be able to complete the courses online, and instantly receive their credits. Other features of the system will allow participants to track their educational progress and monitor continuing education credits on an ongoing basis. The new system also allows participants to register for individual courses, unlike some web-based learning systems that require participants to subscribe to a series of courses.
		
		
				            "The new Learning Management System allows JCR to offer a wider range of courses and meet the needs of busy health care professionals," says Charles Macfarlane, FACHE, CAE, vice president for Learning, JCR. "We are very enthused about the new opportunities for learning that this system offers."
		
		
				Current course offerings include:
		
		
				
						            Who's on Your Staff? Credentialing and Privileging: The Fundamentals*
				
		
		
				
						            Turning Data into Useful Information*
				
		
		
				
						            Environment of Care: Fire Safety
				
		
		
				
						            Accreditation Update: S3
				
		
		
				
						            Environment of Care: Utilities and Clinical Engineering
				
		
		
				
						            Challenging Standards in Hospital Accreditation
				
		
		
				
						            It's a Long Way Down: Reducing the Risk of Patient Falls* and
				
		
		
				
						            Patient Safety on the Line: Using Technology to Aid Effective Communication Among Caregivers*
				
		
		
				            *Continuing education credits offered.
		
		
				
						For more information about JCR's Learning Management System, please call 630.268.7400 or visit 
				
						
								http://www.jcrinc.com/
						
				
				. 
		
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					<pubDate>Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:35:07 GMT</pubDate>
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					<title>Online, Audio Series Offer Infection Control Solutions</title> 
					<link>http://www.jcrinc.com/News/2008/2/20/Online-Audio-Series-Offer-Infection-Control-Solutions/</link> 
					<description><![CDATA[
		
				
						JCR, University of Minnesota School of Nursing Team Upto Tackle One of Toughest Issues in Health Care
				
		
		
				
						
						
				
		
		
				
						(Oak Brook, Ill. — February 20, 2008) The statistics are well known—the CDC says nearly 2 million patients get an infection while hospitalized for other health problems each year and nearly 90,000 die as a result—yet health care-associated infections continue to plague health care organizations. Now, Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, and the University of Minnesota School of Nursing are joining forces to provide a series of online infection control education modules that will give caregivers vital tools to improve patient safety.  
		
		
				            A new online course combines JCR's evidence-based practice experience with the academic strength for which the University of Minnesota School of Nursing is known. The Internet-based program, Foundations in Infection Control, is comprised of 14 individual modules which cover essential infection control topics, including microbiology, infectious disease and patient care practices. Each module provides an overview, exercises, application practice questions and on-demand web presentations, providing a focus on risk identification and prevention strategies. The online program is targeted to infection control and prevention professionals, epidemiologists, and health care providers involved in the prevention, management and treatment of infectious diseases. For more information on this course, call 612.624.3708 or visit 
				
						
								http://www.cce.umn.edu/conferences/infection/
						
				
				.
		
		
				            JCR is also offering an infection control audio conference series, featuring 90-minute programs that highlight proven strategies and first-person accounts of infection control practices successfully implemented in hospitals. The series features JCR infection control experts. 
		
		
				Each program includes time for participants to ask questions. Topics and program dates include:
		
		
				
						
						
				
				
						March 7 - Best Practices in Combating Healthcare Acquired Infections (featuring the experiences of Arkansas Children's Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medical Center)
				
				
						April 10 - Methods for Improving Communication & Teamwork within Your ICP Team
				
				
						May 1 - Joint Commission Standards: Infection Control Revisions for 2009 
				
				
						June 5 - The Infection Control and Environment of Care Connection
				
				
						July 10 - Using Tracer Methodology to Eliminate MRSA
				
		
		
				            For details or to register for the 90-minute audio conferences, please call 1.877.223.6866 or visit 
				
						
								http://www.jcrinc.com/26814/audioconf/28612/
						
				
				.
		
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					<pubDate>Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:29:58 GMT</pubDate>
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