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Learn Life Safety Code tips and interpretations for healthcare facilities with this in-depth monthly resource.

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Healthcare Life Safety Compliance

Issue 12, December 10, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Train your surgical teams to know the three culprits behind OR fires

  The main causes behind operating room (OR) fires, such as oxygen-enriched atmospheres and surgical...

• Cafeteria fire response showcases training on portable extinguishers

  While small, a recent fire at a hospital in Bedford, TX, wasn't insignificant. It provided...

• Ideas for conducting an FMEA for surgical fires

  Thinking ahead about operating room (OR) fire scenarios can help you discover potential problems...

• Cook, clean, and comply with the 2000 LSC

  Nursing homes and other health care facilities that host Medicare inspectors have a lot to chew on...

• Questions & Answers

  Editors' note: Each month, Contributing Technical Editor James Lathrop and his colleagues at Koffel...

Issue 11, November 11, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Review your staff's ability to perform a large-scale evacuation

  With a series of fires that killed 17 people last winter still a fresh memory, the nursing home...

• Certain areas along a corridor can lead to Life Safety Code trouble

  As evidenced by our stories about evacuations elsewhere in this issue, corridors are among the most...

• Questions & Answers

  Each month, Contributing Technical Editor James Lathrop and his colleagues at Koffel Associates...

Issue 10, October 7, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Examining the ins and outs that govern interior exit discharges

  Paragraph 7.7.2 discusses exit discharges that go through a building and sets some limits on them...

• Hand gel study backs dispensers in corridors, but more support needed

  With the release of a fire safety study of alcohol-based hand rubs-including a push to allow gel...

• Corridors, clutter, and an LSC clarification to note

  A frequently debated point in the Life Safety Code (LSC) comes up when you discuss items stored or...

• Questions & Answers

  Each month, Contributing Technical Editor James Lathrop and his colleagues at Koffel Associates...

Issue 9, September 2, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Nursing homes should think ahead about potential sprinkler retrofits

  Soon enough, inspectors for the Medicare program will use the 2000 Life Safety Code® (LSC) during...

• How to avoid operating room fires

  On June 2, a sick infant undergoing an operation at Duke Medical Center in Durham, NC, suffered...

• Ambulatory surgical center v. ambulatory health care facility
  It sounds li

  Over the past several months, confusion arose over exactly what types of ambulatory health care...

• Questions & Answers

  Each month, Contributing Technical Editor James Lathrop and his colleagues at Koffel Associates...

Issue 8, August 4, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Training ideas to consider when you need to relocate patients

  As you contemplate strategies for relocating or even evacuating patients during a fire, consider...

• Figure out which patients can save themselves and you crack the Code

  Editor's note: Three issues ago, we detailed how nuances in the 2000 Life Safety Code® (LSC...

• Here are six benefits the latest edition offers you

  We concede that reading through the new, 2003 edition of the Life Safety Code (LSC) may not be high...

• Questions & Answers

  Each month, Contributing Technical Editor James Lathrop and his colleagues at Koffel Associates...

Issue 7, July 9, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Fire protection pitfalls that one inspector wants facilities to avoid

  It's not always easy to anticipate what a state inspector or surveyor will look for when it comes...

• Dissecting what 'false alarm' means

  Several respondents to HLSC's recent benchmarking survey questioned us on what we meant by the term...

• Policies and forms help track a project's ILSMs

  Interim life safety measures (ILSMs) are an important consideration for any construction or...

• Questions & Answers

  Questions & Answers

Issue 6, June 6, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Preparing for a surgical laser fire

  Minimizing the threat of a fire during laser surgery has always been a concern for operating room...

• Our survey results detail the causes and penalties of false fire alarms

  Your facility's contractors and employees-not patients and visitors-are much more likely to set off...

• Is it a new or existing building? Common confusion exists

  Since the NFPA first published it as the Building Exits Code in 1927, the Life Safety Code (LSC...

• Questions & Answers

  Each month, Contributing Technical Editor James Lathrop and his colleagues at Koffel Associates...

• Healthcare Life Safety Compliance Quiz

  Healthcare Life Safety Compliance Quiz

Issue 5, May 5, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Nuances in the 2000 LSC affect your ambulatory and business sites

  Health care organizations that own or operate ambulatory surgical centers, stand-alone clinics, and...

• Exploring the debate of smoking rights v. fire protection needs

  Nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and behavioral health units sometimes find it hard to...

• Facilities faced with evolving info about hand gels

  A robust debate continues over alcohol-based hand gels in health care facilities-not necessarily...

• Mounting fire extinguishers: NFPA 10 sets the rules for height and brackets

  The Life Safety Code (LSC) requires all health care facilities to have portable fire extinguishers...

• Questions & Answers

  Editor's note: Each month, Contributing Technical Editor James Lathrop and his colleagues at Koffel...

Issue 4, April 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Strategies must stress evacuation procedures and relocation sites

  A bad period in the health care industry occurred from February 18 to March 8, when five...

• Is it a 'fully sprinklered' building?

  Not surprisingly, you have to navigate the codes to find out exactly where the NFPA explains the...

• Questions & Answers

  Each month, Contributing Technical Editor James Lathrop and his colleagues at Koffel Associates...

Issue 3, March 5, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• What do you do with bulk storage of alcohol-based hand gels?

  Follow-up story What do you do with bulk storage of alcohol-based hand gels? Editor's note: In...

• Easy precautions and maintenance can prevent fires in clothes dryers

  On a Sunday morning in December 2002, a clothes dryer caught fire in the laundry room at Helen...

• Questions & Answers

  Each month, Contributing Technical Editor James Lathrop and his colleagues at Koffel Associates...

Issue 2, February 21, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• At last, CMS adopts the 2000 Code

  Enforcement starts September 11We don’t want to tell facilities that still reference the...

• Hunting the hidden enemies of sprinkler pipes

  Use these tips to battle organic corrosion problemsHungry microorganisms called microbes might...

• Learn what the fire department wants from your medical facility

  Part two: Let’s mingle for a whileThose of you who meet regularly with your local...

• Questions & Answers

  Each month, Contributing Technical Editor James Lathrop and his colleagues at Koffel Associates...

Issue 1, January 21, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How facilities can cooperate better with their local fire departments

  Part one: Who exactly responds to an alarm?Suppose a nurse working in the corridor hears a fellow...

• Now, a bit more flexibility for egress from mechanical and boiler rooms

  A new provision in the 2000 Life Safety Code® (LSC) builds upon earlier allowances for...

• Questions & Answers

  Each month, Contributing Technical Editor James Lathrop and his colleagues at Koffel Associates...