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Healthcare Life Safety Compliance

Issue 12, December 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Damper, surveyor changes will ring in the New Year

  January 1, 2008, will be an important date for safety managers and facility directors to note in...

• Here's help with the LSC's door-locking requirements

  Requirements that govern the locking of doors in healthcare facilities became one of the most...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 11, November 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Location and container size govern soiled linen concerns

  How you handle clean versus soiled linen is more than just a housekeeping consideration. The Life...

• Physicians may not always have to participate in drills

  In the August Healthcare Life Safety Compliance, we ran a story that detailed a series of EC...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 10, October 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Common supervisory devices bring along plenty of testing

  Under Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) standard EC.5.40-which sets a variety of requirements for...

• Fire safety takes center stage in a posted survey report

  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston took the unusual step of posting its Joint...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 9, September 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• New e-SOC changes should help make your job easier

  By the time you read this article, the September 1 deadline for importing all spreadsheet-based...

• Life safety surveyors help you navigate the difficulties

  Your peers in the healthcare industry have The Joint Commission's building maintenance program on...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 8, August 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Task force says it's okay to charge computers in alcoves

  In a move that will be good news for many healthcare facilities, an influential group of...

• ILSMs prove to be a risk to accreditation status, again

  Noting lax interim life safety measure (ILSM) procedures, The Joint Commission issued preliminary...

• In-house visits may improve fire department cooperation

  We often hear from facilities that encounter roadblocks when the fire department responds to an...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 7, July 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Cigarettes and alleged arson add unexpected scenarios

  Two recent fires illustrate that new twists can occur- despite staff training and prior...

• Panel tackles hand foams and out-of-service systems

  Alcohol-based hand foam dispensers now have the green light to be in corridors, clearing up what...

• Your PFIs and ILSM assessments need written backups

  Poorly executed policies about interim life safety measures (ILSM) and plans for improvement (PFI...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 6, June 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• PFI lapse hurts NJ hospital

  In a case that illustrates the importance of paperwork when it comes to fire safety, a New Jersey...

• Check refuge sites for medical gas, electrical connections

  An employee's alleged use of a space heater-despite hospital policy forbidding such equipment in...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 5, May 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Beware of NFPA 99 pitfalls when it comes to liquid oxygen transfilling

  Editor's note: In the April Healthcare Life Safety Compliance, we looked in detail at the topic of...

• Review long-term care policies in wake of fatality

  An assisted living facility fire in North Carolina that killed a resident brings up two areas of...

• Recommendations help more than requirements

  Each month in this column, the staff at Koffel Associates, Inc., in Elkridge, MD, explains fire...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 4, April 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Learn the ins and outs of medical gas cylinder storage in your facility

  Properly storing medical gas cylinders can help diminish fire risks in healthcare facilities. We...

• The Joint Commission makes a new push for broader use of ILSMs

  In what comes across as a change in approach, The Joint Commission has published broad examples of...

• Tips to better navigate Part 2 of the electronic SOC

  Remember, as of January 1, all facilities should have submitted an electronic version of Part 2 to...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 3, March 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Base your lab provisions on codes and patients' ability to evacuate

  When talking about laboratories, it's common to hear the discussion boil down to two standards...

• A cancer hospital details evacuation success, offers tips for your plans

  Patient evacuations always present tough challenges. One would think that if cancer patients are...

• CMS formally adopts rule for 12 E-size cylinders

  A trio of new memoranda from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) solidify the...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 2, February 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Stay on top of the EC standards life safety specialists survey the most

  Sooner or later, a life safety specialist will show up at your facility, so you need to stay...

• Dissect your compliance with EC.5.40's provisions

  Each month in this column, the staff at Koffel Associates, Inc., in Elkridge, MD, explain fire...

• Questions & Answers

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

Issue 1, January 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Verify that you've gone electronic with all of your new PFI entries

  With the New Year here, let's take a quick look at what new JCAHO life safety provisions went into...

• Further dissecting false alarms and exploring risk assessment solutions

  In the October 2006 Healthcare Life Safety Compliance, we presented results from a benchmarking...

• Questions & Answers

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