Safety

Joint Commission engineer: Test your utility contingencies

Emergency Management Alert, May 4, 2010

A Joint Commission official is warning hospitals to double-check contingency plans they have in place for utility system failures, reports Scott Wallask for HealthLeaders Media.

George Mills, MBA, FASHE, CEM, CHFM, CHSP, senior engineer at the accrediting organization, said he has seen some medical centers rely too heavily on memorandums of understanding with vendors without truly testing those agreements.

Lacking such tests, healthcare facilities may find themselves competing for scarce contracted resources should a community-wide emergency occur, Mills said during a Joint Commission Resources Webcast earlier this month.

The dilemma showcases the connections between utility performance and disaster planning efforts.

To read the entire HealthLeaders Media article, click here.
 

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