The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is providing information to assist providers and suppliers in meeting the Training and Testing requirements of the new Emergency Preparedness Final Rule that was published on Sept. 16, 2016 (81 FR 63860), and became effective on Nov. 15, 2016.

While providers and suppliers are encouraged to partner with local and state emergency agencies and health care coalitions to conduct full-scale community exercises, not all agencies and coalitions will have the ability or resources to engage with all providers and suppliers. In such cases, CMS expects those who have been unable to complete a full-scale exercise by Nov. 15, 2017, to complete an individual facility-based exercise and document the circumstances as to why a full-scale, community-based exercise was not completed.

Last chance to submit ASHE Energy to Care nominees

Applications for the American Society for Healthcare Engineering’s Energy to Care awards are due April 1. The Energy to Care Awards honor health care facilities that reduce energy consumption by 10 percent in a single year or by 15 percent over two years. The program also recognizes previous award winners that reduce energy consumption by 5 percent.

Joint Commission releases Sentinel Event data for 2016

The Joint Commission has released updated Sentinel Event data for 2016. Facility- and security-related events that appear on the list include patient elopement, patient falls, infant abductions, fires and criminal events.

The reporting of most sentinel events to the Joint Commission is voluntary and represents only a small proportion of actual events. Therefore, these data are not an epidemiologic data set and no conclusions should be drawn about the actual relative frequency of events or trends in events over time.

Access the full list.

Monitor/defibrillator recalled due to electrical issues 

Phillips Healthcare has recalled the HeartStart MRx monitor/defibrillator due to electrical issues that may prevent the device from operating properly. The Food and Drug Administration has designated it a Class I recall.

The device’s electrical and battery connection issues may prevent it from powering up, charging and delivering an electrical shock therapy. The device also may unexpectedly stop pacing. A delay in delivering therapy could result in such serious patient injury as permanent organ damage, brain injury or death.