The Joint Commission

Why choose to work with a Joint Commission accredited agency?

Joint Commission Certification is a critical component of healthcare staffing. It helps to ensure that healthcare professionals are working with agencies that have been thoroughly evaluated and meet the highest standards for quality and patient safety. By choosing a Joint Commission Certified agency like Lifeline, you can trust that you are receiving top-notch staffing services and support.

The Joint Commission Policy Statement

Lifeline Medical Staffing is committed to providing a higher standard of service and to the delivery of safe, quality patient care. Lifeline Medical Staffing works diligently to comply with the Joint Commission’s Standards for Healthcare Staffing Services. As our customer, you can have confidence that the processes within Lifeline Medical Staffing support that the supplemental staff working in your organization have met the requirements established by the Joint Commission. To assure compliance with the Joint Commission Standards for Healthcare Staffing Services, Lifeline Medical Staffing provides the customer a written description of the following service features:

Subcontractors
Lifeline Medical Staffing will not engage subcontractors to provide supplemental staff to the customer unless agreed to in advance by the customer.

Competency Review
It is the responsibility of Lifeline Medical Staffing to conduct and finalize the pre-employment assessment of the supplemental staff’s qualifications and skills based on internal hiring requirements and procedures. It shall be the responsibility of the customer to cooperate in a review or evaluation of each supplemental staff, relative to the staff’s ability to perform specific job functions upon completion of customer’s orientation, assignments, and shifts.

Orientation of Employees
Lifeline Medical Staffing will provide all new supplemental staff with an orientation to the company’s policies and procedures. It is the responsibility of the client to orient supplemental staff to the facility and its rules and regulations and acquaint them with the facility policies and procedures, including, but not limited to, dress code, timekeeping, charting, physical layout and equipment, and to validate the competency and ability of supplemental staff to use equipment properly.

Floating
Lifeline Medical Staffing supplemental staff may only be placed in assignments that match the job description for which Lifeline Medical Staffing assigns them. If staff is asked to float to another department with the customer, the department must be a like department or unit and the floated staff must have demonstrated previous competency and have the appropriate certifications and credentials for that department/unit. Supplemental staff should only be floated to areas of comparable clinical diagnoses and acuities. Customer must notify Lifeline Medical Staffing immediately of floating supplemental staff.

Independent Contractors
As the provider of staffing services, Lifeline Medical Staffing will be the employer of staff and shall not, by reason of their temporary assignment with the customer through Lifeline Medical Staffing, become employees of the customer. At its sole discretion, Lifeline Medical Staffing reserves the right to utilize Independent Contractors in addition to its providers, to assist in the provision of all agreed upon supplemental staffing services.

Incident & Error Tracking System
Upon notification of Incidents and or Errors, Lifeline Medical Staffing shall document and track all incidents, including errors, sentinel events and other events, such as injuries and safety hazards related to the care and services provided, utilizing its data gathering tools. Information gathered, tracked, and analyzed is to be shared and reported appropriately to customers, regulatory bodies, and the Joint Commission as required.

Communicating Occupational Safety Hazards & Events
It shall be the responsibility of the customer to orient and notify supplemental staff of potential occupational hazards or concerns in advance of their assignment. Customer shall notify Lifeline Medical Staffing within 24 hours of the event; any competency issues, incidents, and/or complaints related to the supplemental staff and/or Lifeline Medical Staffing. Customer agrees to initiate communication with Lifeline Medical Staffing in writing whenever an incident/injury report related to the supplemental staff is completed.

Requirements for Staff Specified
The requirements of staff sent to the customer by Lifeline Medical Staffing are to be determined by the customer as part of the written agreement between the two parties. It is Lifeline Medical Staffing’s obligation to comply with the requirements of the customer by supplying staff that have the documented competencies, credentials, health screening and experience to satisfy the requirements specified by the customer in order to deliver safe care to the population being served.

Staff Matching Requirements
Lifeline Medical Staffing shall verify the supplemental staff’s licensure, certification, education and work experience to assure they possess the skills and experience that match requirements for the assignment.
It shall be the customer’s responsibility to provide ongoing feedback and confirmation that the supplemental staff meet the competencies and expectations of the assignment.

General Information / The Joint Commission Notification

Lifeline Medical Staffing can be reached 24/7 by phone at 800-975-7343 or info@lifelinemedstaffing.com. Any individual or organization that has a concern about the quality and safety of patient care delivered by Lifeline Medical Staffing supplemental staff is encouraged to contact the Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org or by calling the Office of Quality Monitoring at (630) 792-5636. Lifeline Medical Staffing demonstrates this commitment by taking no retaliatory or disciplinary action against staff or customers when they report safety or quality of care concerns to the Joint Commission.