Hospital safety professionals must provide oversight to operations and activities where patient care is done. They assess these operations and the associated processes, and develop procedures to minimize and control risks to ensure effective patient care and other services are done within a safe environment. They analyze and resolve diverse critical safety hazards that involve multiple environments, buildings, equipment and people. The work is usually performed in a medical, dental or veterinary treatment facility in a variety of locations.
Hospital safety professionals must have expert knowledge in all regulatory standards of compliance to include but not limited to The Joint Commission (TJC); Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA); National Fire Protection Association (NFPA); American National Standards Institute (ANSI); American Hospital Association (AHA); College of American Pathologists (CAP); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and the Army Safety Program, etc. Provide oversight for new construction and renovation and coordinates with the Corps of Engineers; Health Facilities Planning Agency and contractors during planning, pre-construction, construction and acceptance phases on new and renovation projects of Medical/Dental and Veterinary Services facilities.
These safety managers must prepare recommendations and advise commanders and managers of the best means for complying with standards and reducing hazards to ensure a safe work environment for patients, visitors, Soldiers, civilian employees, and contractors. Since they interact with employees, supervisors, managers, as well as Federal (OSHA/EPA), State, and other authorities, safety personnel need to effectively communicate at all levels. Within the Army, the organization that employs hospital safety personnel is the U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM).