Environment of Care
The environment of care in a healthcare organization consists of three elements:
- The building or space, including how it is arranged and specific features to protect patients, staff and visitors.
- Equipment used to support quality patient care or to safely operate the building or space.
- Patient, staff, visitors and anyone else who enters the organization, all of whom have a role in minimizing risks.
Any healthcare organization, regardless of its size or location, faces risks in the environment of care area. Environmental risks occur in many areas, including safety and security, fire, infection control, hazardous materials and waste management, medical equipment management and utility systems management. Having standardized, hardwired best practices and processes in place can decrease environment of care risks and help your organization remain prepared for a regulatory survey. The resources available in this toolkit include tactics to proactively minimize risks to patients, staff and visitors from known hazards or risks that may exist in the physical environment or activities connected to its operations and/or properties.
Toolkit Materials
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2018 Joint Commission Code Changes Related to Environment of Care and Life Safety Chapters
This resource provides updated Life Safety Codes for the environment of care and life safety elements for the Hospital Accreditation Program, the Ambulatory Healthcare Accreditation Program and the Critical Access Hospital Accreditation Program.
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Environment of Care Safety Rounds Checklist
Utilize this tool when performing environment of care rounds, weekly or monthly assessments, tracers or in preparation for a regulatory survey to gain an overall picture of the condition of the environment.
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Fire Drill Matrix
This resource provides a log for documenting fire drills conducted throughout the organization on a quarterly and a shift by shift basis. It is important to conduct fire drills and maintain documentation of the drills conducted in an easy-to-read format and as a reference for surveyors.
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Interim Life Safety Measures Policy & Checklist
This resource provides a template for ILSM measures and a checklist for developing a policy and procedure when interim life safety is needed to ensure the safety of all.
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Infection Control Risk Assessment: Matrix of Precautions for Construction and Renovation
Healthcare facilities are expected to conduct and document an Infection Control Risk Assessment, also called an ICRA, prior to any type of construction or renovation. The purpose of this tool is to identify and mitigate any risks to the environment, staff or patients in the organization during the construction/renovation period.
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Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health Care Facilities
These resources provide CDC guidelines regarding environmental infection control practices and strategies for the prevention of environmentally-mediated infections, especially among healthcare workers and at-risk patients.
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Infection Prevention & Control Risk Assessments
These resources are intended to assist in the assessment of Infection Control environmental processes in Acute Care Hospitals, Outpatient settings, Hemodialysis settings, and Long-Term Care settings.
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Environmental Services Cleaning and Disinfecting Guidelines
These resources provide environmental services cleaning and disinfecting guidelines along with training in general infection and control practices.
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Tobacco-Free Toolkit
Healthcare facilities are encouraged to become 100% tobacco-free to protect patients, staff and visitors from secondhand smoke. This resource provides tools to transition to a tobacco-free organization.
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Wet Floor Precautions In Healthcare Facilities
While mopping floors is a key component of any infection prevention program, the wet floor that results can be dangerous if proper precautions are not taken. This tool is an excellent document to train new hires in the Environmental Services department as well as a quick reminder for existing staff.
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Top 10 Ways Pests Can Gain Access
Insects and pests that enter your organization can bring in bacteria and contaminate surfaces, equipment and supplies. This article is an excellent overview of common ways insects and pests enter your organization and how you can prevent it or at least control it.