ISO 9001:2015 is a quality management system (QMS) that applies "risk-based thinking" concepts and assists health care organizations with understanding and formalizing internal and external processes based on various levels of risk. Applying risk-based thinking concepts promotes the preventive action approach by installing sustainable, effective processes that promote continuous improvement.

Learn how to get ahead of various challenges related to facility management, life safety management, safety and security, hazardous materials, emergency management, medical equipment and utility management systems. Including ISO 9001:2015 QMS concepts will not only help your organization avoid getting caught with unexpected findings during your accreditation survey, but more importantly, it will improve the safety of the health care environment for patients, staff, visitors and the general public.

Sustainability leaders from general business and health care will discuss trends and technology for sustainability strategies that directly contribute to key health care performance metrics such as safety, reliability and compliance. Presenters will outline a playbook for developing a sustainability strategy that aligns with energy management and cost reduction initiatives and intersects with local, national and global trends for health and social equity.

Are you prepared for a new permit-to-work requirement for your medical gas and vacuum systems? The next edition of NFPA 99 requires that a designated on-site responsible facility authority be identified to oversee the operation and management of these critical systems. In addition, NFPA 99-2021 will expect health care organizations to implement a permit-to-work system for the maintenance, repairs, periodic inspections and new construction activities for these systems. This presentation will review the new requirements for identifying the responsible facility authority and the qualifications necessary for this position, as well as provide an overview of the permit-to-work system.

Cybersecurity is a major concern for health care providers, and today’s cyberthreats can affect facilities equipment and utilities just as seriously as they affect information technology (IT) systems and clinical equipment. A hospital can be shut down if its HVAC system is hacked during a heat wave. Even a temporary interruption of refrigeration can destroy medicine, tissue samples or organs awaiting transplant.

Mayo Clinic has integrated and operationalized two technologies that provide a centralized database of facility, clinical engineering and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices and automate the processes for providing their cybersecurity. Mayo has built the process to provide increased compliance relative to recent changes to federal law, which have enabled hospital systems to mitigate their organizational liability in the event of a cybersecurity breach when good faith efforts are made to implement recognized best practices of the industry. These practices, which are operationalized in Mayo’s solution design, necessitate a whole-hospital approach to cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is a team sport. Demonstrating meaningful, good faith adherence involves not only HTM and IT personnel but facility and maintenance staff as well. This session will examine the solution developed by Mayo, the best practices recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services, and why they apply to IoT outside of medical devices.

New models of care are beginning to emerge that address both the overcrowding issues related to and the delivery of care appropriate for patients in a mental health crisis. In this session, presenters will walk attendees through these developing models, including behavioral emergency centers, protocols for emergency psychiatric assessment and treatment, and the development of med-psych hybrid spaces. Case studies will show how various organizations are addressing the need for safe care spaces, including flex emergency rooms for facilities with lower average daily census and therapeutic spaces that promote patient mental health and dignity.

The changing climate poses a major threat to health care providers because natural disasters often disable health care facilities at the precise time their services are needed most. Before beginning to design their new medical campus in Pensacola, Fla., Baptist Health Care called on Gresham Smith to research how the area’s severe weather events and changing climate conditions could impact the campus during the next 100 years. Using this project as a case study, presenters will discuss the drivers in accounting for future climate conditions when making capital investments and the process to do so in a design and construction project.

The Joint Commission (TJC) has added new Water Management Program requirements and Life Safety Code standards for business occupancies. In addition, TJC has modified its survey process to evaluate Environment of Care and Emergency Management compliance. This session will review these additions and modifications as well as introduce key takeaways from the public health emergency.

This will be a panel-type open discussion where the participants can ask DNV surveyors questions concerning the survey process, top findings, challenges hospitals are having with surveys, best practices, standard changes and hot topics. The panel will consist of three current DNV employees including a NFPA 101 code expert, an ISO 9001 expert and a top executive from DNV.

Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) is adding emergency management program requirements and publishing some tools for physical environment, emergency management and life safety compliance. This session will review these additions and modifications as well as introduce key takeaways from survey experience and post-survey corrections.

As we move further into year three of the pandemic, we are faced with a growing scope of supply chain and raw material shortages and disruptions. Come to this session to learn and actively discuss the pre-COVID supply chain, the evolution of the pandemic and supply shortages, and key, strategic areas of focus as we reimagine the health care supply chain.