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data, so we're not overspending, but we're also managing the caseload without interruptions."
The benefits, she says, are clear: "A satisfied surgery department and surgeons, manageable finances, and the assurance SPD has the
expertise to put us ahead of the curve with respect to future regulations regarding sterile processing."
Accreditation preparation
When the accreditation body and the Institute of Medical Quality surveyors showed up at the ASC Cecilia Giancanelli, RN, used to work for, she'd been on the job as director of nursing for only 4 months. Yet
the facility passed both inspections with flying colors, garnering 3year approvals from the IMQ and accreditor alike. Her secret? Using a consultant to guide the process.
Putting him in charge of survey preparation had 2 major advantages, she says. First, the process would be guided by an expert in federal and state regulations. Second, it was an opportunity to learn her new
ASC inside out, with an expert by her side. Ms. Giancanelli got a crash
course on the rules about "cleanliness, chart audits, fire safety, crash carts, physician credentialing, employee records, education and inservices, the contents of sharps containers, biohazard manifests,
HIPAA compliance, housekeeping, policies and procedures for visiting
vendors — you name it."
The consultant alerted her that the facility needed to be performing 2 focus studies annually, and didn't have any to show for the year. She
was able to get them up and running, to demonstrate they were inprogress at the time of the survey. The consultant also audited all charts and spotted a missing California transfer sheet — necessary
any time a patient is transferred from the ASC to a hospital — in one patient's record, letting Ms. Giancanelli, now the center director for
