The Joint Commission revises Environment of Care Chapter

The Joint Commission revises Environment of Care Chapter

The Joint Commission on January 26 announced that it has approved several revisions to Elements of Performance (EP) in the Environment of Care (EC) chapter, which will vary across accreditation programs.

Among the revisions:

• Standard EC.02.04.01, EP 11, which addresses reporting incidents of death, injury, or illness related to medical equipment, was added back for critical access hospitals and hospitals. The EP had been inadvertently deleted.
• New and revised EPs that clarify and/or strengthen expectations relating to National Fire Protection Association codes.
• Standard EC.02.03.05, EPs 7 and 8, deleted for ambulatory healthcare, home care, and behavioral health and human services organizations; critical access hospitals and hospitals; and office-bases surgery practices because most don’t have water storage tanks.

The revisions are effective July 1, 2022.