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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 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Learn how ambulatory sites fuse hospital and business requirements

  The Life Safety Code® (LSC) requirements for ambulatory healthcare facilities bridge those for...

• Medicare inspectors target common fire safety glitches at one hospital

  If Medicare inspectors visit your hospital following an accreditation survey, be ready for an...

• How to bring more physicians into safety training

  Physician involvement in fire safety training sometimes seems like a thought better left for...

• Questions & Answers

  Each month, Jennifer Holloman and James Lathrop of fire protection consulting firm Koffel...

Issue 11, November 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Deciding who handles fire watches

  Under the Life Safety Code® (LSC ), when a fire alarm or sprinkler system goes out of service for...

• Nine tips for smoother renovations

  A review of one hospital's early work in a sprinkler system retrofit and fire alarm upgrade...

• Recent fires reiterate resident evacuation needs

  A spate of assisted living fires-including a pair of incidents which killed four residents-brings...

• Questions & Answers

  Each month, Jennifer Holloman and James Lathrop of fire protection consulting firm Koffel...

Issue 10, October 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Tips to avoid frozen sprinkler pipes

  Winter is just around the corner, and even warm climates occasionally dip below 32 degrees...

• Our online poll shows that fire safety nags facilities during 2004 surveys

  How your facility carries out its fire safety plan is among the top areas for surveyors to discuss...

• Mesh sprinkler concerns, cubicle curtains

  Cubicle curtains are common items in healthcare facilities, providing a semblance of privacy in...

• Questions & Answers

  Each month, Jennifer Holloman and James Lathrop of fire protection consulting firm Koffel...

Issue 9, September 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

Issue 8, August 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• A hand-gel flash fire reinforces new LSC limits on dispensers

  When the NFPA published new hand-gel dispenser amendments for the 2000 Life Safety Code® (LSC...

• Pragmatic drills include practice with specialized equipment

  In our last issue, we wrote about evacuations and putting a realistic spin on fire drills so staff...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 7, July 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Concerns about new v. existing sites can muddle your use of NFPA 99

  NFPA 99, Healthcare Facilities, generally aims its requirements at new buildings. Yet in some...

• Experts stress that staff training needs to 'get back to the basics'

  Protecting nursing home residents from fires involves several steps that may seem straightforward...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 6, June 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Try these ideas to keep your SOC an evolving, 'living document'

  You'll sometimes hear surveyors describe the Statement of Conditions (SOC ) as "a living document...

• A short LSC reference adds to the rules for construction fire safety

  Tucked in the Life Safety Code (LSC ) at the end of each healthcare chapter is a reference to...

• Authorities mull options to permit gel dispensers

  Medicare officials are pondering the best way to allow hand-gel dispensers in corridors and other...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 5, May 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• A primer for testing alarm systems: Use NFPA 72 to guide inspections

  A short reference in the Life Safety Code® (LSC ) is the starting point for fire-alarm testing in...

• Learn how OSHA's requirements tie into the 2000 Life Safety Code

  If you stay on top of familiar life-safety responsibilities, chances are you'll also keep...

• Trust, positive styles win over authorities

  When it comes to fire-code disputes, negotiating with and appeasing authorities having jurisdiction...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 4, April 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Use these precautions to avoid problems with sprinkler contractors

  Whether you're building a new healthcare facility with sprinkler protection or retrofitting an...

• Quick inspection ideas for pipe installations, retrofits, or repairs

  If your facility is installing or upgrading a medical gas or vacuum system, you might want to check...

• Nursing homes must step through revised door requirements

  After the Medicare program adopted the 2000 Life Safety Code ( LSC ) last year, replacing the 1985...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 3, March 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Dig into extinguisher training: Use details on distances and judgments

  Many of you are familiar with the PASS technique for portable fire extinguishers. The term-which...

• Two thumbs down: NFPA boards reject gel, sprinkler proposals

  A pair of proposed amendments to the 2003 Life Safety Code (LSC ), which have strong implications...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 2, February 12, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Learning the levels behind NFPA 99 requirements is as easy as 1, 3, 2

  When it comes to piped medical gas and vacuum systems, consultant David Mohile takes things a bit...

• Assisted living facilities fall under which Life Safety Code chapter?

  No overriding opinion exists on what type of occupancy an assisted living facility qualifies as...

• Bed-fire dangers prompt FDA recommendations

  Becoming familiar with the electrical risks associated with medical beds may help prevent...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 1, January 14, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Protect lab workers with NFPA 99

  Laboratories present some fire risks greater than those found elsewhere in a medical center, so...

• A trio of considerations to protect your facility's boiler rooms

  For clinicians and patients, rooms that house boilers may seem miles away, located deep in the...

• Tips to better approach equivalencies

  Here are some suggestions to help strengthen your equivalency requests to the Joint Commission on...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 9, September 1, 2004

• Proposal seeks to make damper testing an annual chore for you

  Imagine quadrupling the time you spend testing dampers and paying those added costs. That...

• JCAHO will devote more attention to fire safety

  Expect more heat on you to comply with the Life Safety Code (LSC) when surveyors and inspectors...

• It's out for hospitals, but in for ambulatory care

  In a somewhat strange move considering the amount of surgeries in both settings, hospitals escaped...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 57, January 6, 2004

• Protect your boiler room from fire

  Protect your boiler room from fire