News Headlines | | CMS creates easier way to ask about waivers during the current public health emergency, which has... The Joint Commission is asking for feedback on proposed changes to hospital requirements on... Clinicians need to take a multipronged approach to communicating with their patients about... Mac's Safety Space: It would seem that the likelihood of ongoing remote surveys is growing in relation to the number of organizations awaiting survey. | | |
Healthcare Life Safety Compliance | | Editor’s note: Each month, Brad Keyes, CHSP, owner of Keyes Life Safety Compliance, answers your questions about life safety compliance. Follow Keyes’ blog on life safety at www.complianceonegroup.com/lifesafety for up to date information. Q: Now that NFPA 110-2010, section 7.3.1 clarified a battery-powered light is not required at the generator if located outside, my colleague and I are having a disagreement on the standard for a task light at the generator. NFPA 99-2012, section 6.4.2.2.3.2 states: The life safety branch shall supply power for lighting, receptacles, and equipment as follows: (4) Generator set location, (a) task illumination. This is reiterated under a Type 2 EES, section 6.5.2.2.2.1 (6). My colleagues say you only need task illumination at the generator if required per NFPA 110. I say the NFPA 99 code is very clear and requires it. We agreed to seek your interpretation. By the way, it’s odd that NFPA 110-2010, section A.7.3.3 states: Where units housed outdoors are used, it is recommended that a flashlight or battery-powered light with a flexible cord be maintained in the housing. Do the folks who write NFPA 110 ever talk with the folks who write NFPA 99, so they would all be on the same page? | | |
Healthcare Safety Leader | | Review your hospital’s inventory of different types of sprinkler heads, and then ensure you have at least six spare sprinkler heads for each type and temperature rating of those installed in your facility. Those spare sprinkler heads will need to be readily available and stored in a cabinet along with any associated wrench or tool needed to switch them out. And the location of that cabinet must be in an area that does not exceed 100°F. When civil unrest outside your doors threatens to come inside, be sure staff are trained on screening protocols for identifying people who should not be in your facility or on your property. Whether it’s high school rivalries, gang activity, or even political unrest, hospitals should be prepared for patients from opposing sides to be in your emergency department (ED). Frayed nerves from the pandemic will only serve to make things worse. | | |
Medical Environment Update | | Editor’s note: In this guest column, Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP), SLS, laboratory safety officer for multihospital system Sentara Healthcare in Virginia, and otherwise known as “Dan, the Lab Safety Man,” discusses the important issues that affect your job every day. As we prepare to say goodbye and good riddance to the year 2020, we hesitatingly welcome 2021. What will the new year bring? Can it be worse than last year? Are we prepared to deal with whatever else may be coming? Did we learn lessons in 2020 that will help us? | | |
| Building a High-Reliability Organization: A Toolkit for Success, Second Edition | | Building a High-Reliability Organization: A Toolkit for Success, Second Edition is centered around improving hospital processes for patient safety and quality care through high-reliability practices. Authors Gary L. Sculli, MSN, ATP, Douglas E. Paull, MD, FACS, FCCP, CHSE, and David Sine, CSP, ARM, CPHRM, DrBE, look at the role leadership played in transforming their facilities into high-reliability organizations (HRO). By implementing top-down processes that translate throughout the organization, leaders can create environments that foster high reliability, patient safety, and care. Order your copy today! 
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Hospital Safety Newsletters | | Sign up for our monthly newsletters, and get an article each week! Healthcare Life Safety Compliance This award-winning monthly resource simplifies confusing code references so you can better protect your facility. You need Healthcare Life Safety Compliance to keep you up to date on the latest changes to the Life Safety Code (LSC), as well as The Joint Commissions Life Safety standards, NFPA codes, and related fire protection provisions to ensure the safety of patients, visitors, and employees. Hospital Safety Leader With a Hospital Safety Center membership, you?ll gain complete access to HSL, a16-page monthly publication that provides safety professionals with crucial information and clear-cut guidance on how to improve and ensure hospital safety. Medical Environment Update Keeping safety professionals up to speed with the always-changing policies of OSHA, CDC, EPA, and other healthcare regulatory agencies. Discover workplace health and safety tips written with facilities like yours in mind. | | |
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