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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, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Learn how business occupancies differ from healthcare settings

  Occasionally we receive questions about what requirements the Life Safety Code® ( LSC ) imposes on...

• Read the JCAHO’s views about drills, corridor clutter, and more

  The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) often finds itself...

• Permits and fire watches augment hot work safety

  A reader recently asked us about hot work permits, so it seems like a good time to quickly run down...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 11, November 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Suite provisions receive a face-lift

  Issues such as hand gel dispensers and sprinklers in nursing homes have received the bulk of...

• With unannounced JCAHO surveys imminent, use these life safety tips

  Starting January 1, all surveys conducted by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 10, October 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Five questions that can help ensure the welfare of your site’s fire doors

  Easy maintenance steps-along with the help of clinicians and support services staff-can keep your...

• Faced with backup generator loss, sites may need broad fire watches

  Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of hospitals and other healthcare facilities along the Gulf...

• A new NFPA report questions staff response

  An NFPA investigation into a Hartford, CT, nursing home fire points to three major factors that...

• Control heat sources using simple precautions

  There are three components that make up a fire: heat, fuel, and an oxidizer. Each of these elements...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 9, September 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The JCAHO says 12-cylinder limit doesn’t apply to in-use tanks

  The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has clarified its policy...

• Use recent long-term care fires to reeducate your employees

  A rash of at least five nursing home fires from late May through early August points to the need...

• Keep safety at the forefront of smoking policies

  Long-term care facility administrators need to consider many factors when designing a smoking...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 8, August 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Life safety surveyors offer tips on how to better comply with JCAHO

  Attendees at a recent industry gathering had the rare opportunity to learn from four life safety...

• A little bit of homework will help ease CMS healthcare inspections

  Editor’s note: In the June HLSC, we provided an overview of life safety inspections from the...

• Consider speed, transport, and self-preservation

  Emergency planning, whether for an internal problem like a fire or an incident in the community...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 7, July 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• JCAHO’s new EC boss discusses hand gels and future SOC changes

  A town hall-style meeting during the NFPA’s annual conference in Las Vegas provided the first...

• Tips on how to boost your success

  With the introduction of the life safety surveyor earlier this year, hospitals undergoing Joint...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 6, June 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Hints to help you stay ahead of CMS’ tough Life Safety Code inspections

  Many of you know that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires compliance with...

• Keep kitchen suppression systems up to code for JCAHO surveys

  Among the near-guaranteed stops that surveyors from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 5, May 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Busted PFI extensions get tougher

  Busted PFI extensions get tougher The JCAHO puts more onus on facilities to keep up You may...

• CMS inspectors told to crack down on alcohol-based surgical preps

  CMS inspectors told to crack down on alcohol-based surgical preps A hospital fire in October...

• Questions & Answers

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

• Evaluate pillow speaker use near oxygen therapy

  Here's an interesting debate: On one side, you have an electronic item that features a warning not...

Issue 4, April 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The JCAHO plans to allow online submissions of SOCs by year's end

  By the end of 2005, accredited facilities that need to complete a Statement of Conditions (SOC) may...

• To understand window requirements, you have to untangle terms and uses

  What most people is not quite as simple when it's referenced in the Life Safety Code® (LSC). The...

• An argument for putting roller latches in a PFI

  If your facility fills out a Statement of Conditions (SOC), you may need to note major life safety...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 3, March 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Place your exit signs according to JCAHO regulations and the LSC

  Although exit sign requirements in the Life Safety Code® (LSC) aren't complicated, your facility...

• ASHE members efforts have likely defeated annual damper testing idea

  An NFPA committee reversed one of its own decisions and now opposes an increase in damper testing...

• MIT offers emergency tips to healthcare facilities

  Here are four ideas to consider when writing your fire and emergency plans. David Barber, assistant...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 2, February 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• JCAHO instructors emphasize the ins and outs of SOC inspections

  Recent surveyor training on the Life Safety Code® (LSC) focused on fire protection hot spots, the...

• Electrical and surgical fires kill two and strengthen the call for caution

  A pair of deaths in different hospitals emphasizes the need to reinforce fire safety risks to staff...

• Long-term care report pushes for announced drills

  A new report calls for a series of recommendations that offer "an improvement in life safety" in...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 1, January 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• New engineering surveyors represent a smarter, focused Joint Commission

  Mid-size and large hospitals scheduled for Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare...

• A basic look at construction types

  We occasionally write about construction types-for example, you might read about a facility built...

• Questions & Answers

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