home > resources > hospital & clinic safety > environment of care surveys

Environment of Care (EOC) Surveys

VUMC departments, units, and clinics are surveyed to evaluate employee, patient, and visitor safety and regulatory compliance with federal, state and local regulations, standards from accrediting organizations, such as Joint Commission, and VUMC policies. The Environment of Care Reference Manual is used to assist with maintaining compliance and is available on the VUMC Policies web site.

| Frequency | Teams | Tools | References | Management | Questions |

Required Survey Frequency
An EOC survey team performs an EOC survey in all clinical and clinical support sites at least once every six months, and an annual survey is performed in Medical Center areas where patients are not served.

EOC Survey Teams

EOC survey teams are composed of VUMC employees who volunteer to assist with the process.  Team members are from a variety of departments and specialties including: Accreditation and Standards, Infection Control, Environmental Health and Safety, Pharmacy, Clinical Laboratory, Radiology, VUH and VCH Administration, Plant Services, Clinical Engineering, Environmental Services, Central Supply, Emergency Preparedness, Nursing Services, and VPH.

If you would like to volunteer to participate on a survey team, send a message to eoc@vanderbilt.edu.

Survey Tools
The survey tools can be used by managers to assess safety, quality, and compliance for their areas/units. The survey tools are available as PDF files:

• EOC survey form for Outpatient areas   updated 8/12/09
• EOC survey form for Inpatient areas   updated 8/12/09
• EOC survey form for Pediatric Inpatient areas   updated 8/12/09
• EOC survey form for Public areas   updated 1/26/09

To find Refrigerator/Freezer Temperature & Cleaning Log forms, use keyword "refrigerator" on e-docs.

Survey References
The following references explain requirements for some of the topics that are evaluated during EOC surveys.

• Refrigerator/Freezer & Irrigation Solutions/Blanket Warmer Temperature Monitoring
• Eye Wash Requirements
• Fire Door Requirements

Management
The survey program is managed by VEHS staff in the Hospital/Clinic Safety & Training section.  The Environment of Care Management System is one of the tools used to manage this program.

• About the EOC Management System
• Log in to the EOC Management System.

Questions
If you have questions about EOC surveys, please contact Susan Johnson (343-2242) or Mandy Creech (322-1989).

| top of page |