Safety Newsletters

Healthcare Life Safety Compliance Hospital Safety Center Medical Environment Update

Created exclusively for healthcare facility managers, plant operations professionals, and directors of engineering, this monthly 12-page, award-winning resource helps you comply with The Joint Commission’s Life Safety standards, NFPA codes, and related fire protection provisions. Written by Life Safety expert, Brad Keyes, CHSP, each issue is packed with analysis and advice on fire and life safety issues that’s easy to read and apply to your facility.

Subscribe »

2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

Issue 9, September 5, 2021

• Keyes Q&A: Door decorations, storage height, fire drills, surgery suites

  Q: I understand the Life Safety Code® (LSC) decoration rule, but in the long-term care...

Issue 8, August 2, 2021 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Keyes Q&A: Transfer switches, doors, fire extinguishers, emergency lights

  Editor’s note: Each month, Brad Keyes, CHSP, owner of Keyes Life Safety Compliance, answers...

• Update your SOCs for off-campus buildings as TJC targets business occupancies

  Be sure your facility electronic Statement of Conditions™ (eSOC) and Basic Building...

• The dangers of violence are still here: Realities, risks, and prevention

  According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the incidence of violence-related healthcare...

• Beware these common problems with business occupancies

  Update your inspection, testing, and maintenance documentation and check your exit signs when...

• Update SOCs for off-campus buildings as TJC targets business occupancies

  Be sure your facility electronic Statement of Conditions™ (eSOC) and Basic Building...

• TJC's business occupancy standards: Tips, suggestions for compliance

  Just as in any other survey, remember that life safety surveyors will also be looking at...

Issue 7, July 6, 2021 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Emergency preparedness and utility infrastructure in healthcare

  As the COVID-19 vaccines roll out across the country and around the world, healthcare...

• Keyes Q&A: Temporary barriers, stairwell artwork, door undercuts, fire door signs

  A fire watch is always appropriate, and I would not agree that placing a fire extinguisher in the...

• More OSHA scrutiny on healthcare organizations, expanded whistleblower protections

  In March, OSHA issued its Updated Interim Enforcement Response Plan for Coronavirus Disease 2019...

• Some tips and thoughts on reengaging with normal operations

  As anyone in emergency planning knows, part of being prepared is having an emergency recovery...

• Use risk assessment to improve your infection prevention and control post-pandemic

  As the public health emergency (PHE) winds down, resist the urge to return to the way you did...

Issue 6, June 1, 2021 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Keyes Q&A: Fire-rated barriers, fire doors, business occupancies, smoke detectors

  Q: Is there a written NFPA standard that specifically states penetrations in fire-rated walls...

• How to be a high reliability organization during a crisis

  How important is maintaining high reliability organization (HRO) principles and values during a...

• COVID-19's high reliability legacy

  After surviving a global pandemic, will healthcare organizations double down on high reliability...

• Winter storm in Texas tests concept of ’all-hazards planning’

  As an experienced trauma nurse with a master’s degree in emergency management, Lori Upton has...

• Plan care for dialysis and other vulnerable patients stranded in a disaster

  Work with your regional healthcare coalition and Health and Human Services (HHS) to identify the...

Issue 5, May 3, 2021 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Keyes Q&A: Stairwell cameras, ILSM, medical gas valves, special locking arrangements

  Each month, Brad Keyes, CHSP, owner of Keyes Life Safety Compliance, answers your questions about...

• OIG finds fire safety, emergency prep deficiencies at LTC facilities

  If your healthcare system accreditation is tied to a long-term care facility or nursing home, be...

• Arizona Surge Line works to even out patient surge

  Consider joining forces with local or even statewide hospitals to find beds for patients during...

• Physician burnout reaches new heights during COVID-19 pandemic

  If there is one lesson to be taken from 2020, it’s that waiting until a problem evolves into...

Issue 4, April 5, 2021 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• NIST offers new tool for assessing airflow quality during COVID-19

  Indoor air quality isn’t a new issue for healthcare facilities. Ensuring the quality of the...

• Keyes Q&A: Door labels, boom tests, ventilation, oxygen cylinders

  Each month, Brad Keyes, CHSP, owner of Keyes Life Safety Compliance, answers your questions about...

• Review CDC guidance for handling human remains as surge continues

  The CDC offers this guidance for the handling of COVID-19 patients postmortem. You can find the...

• How Truman became a high reliability hospital

  What does it take to turn an already well-performing hospital into a high reliability organization...

• COVID-19: Keep eye on O2 storage systems, mortuary supplies as surges continue

  If you need more morgue space, be sure there is a sufficient power source for any refrigerated...

Issue 3, March 1, 2021 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• TJC changes EP on spare sprinkler heads again, to minimum six

  Those spare sprinkler heads will need to be readily available and stored in a cabinet along with...

• Keyes Q&A: Hanging decorations, curling irons, valve tests, eyewash stations

  Q: What does the Life Safety Code® (LSC) say for hanging decorations from the ceiling in a...

• Becoming a Legionella prevention expert: Get certified on ASSE 12080

  Healthcare providers can now sign up for a ASSE training course on core water pathogen competencies...

• Math can be tricky: TJC corrects ABHR storage requirement

  Update your policies on the storage of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) to reflect an update to The...

• Air control equals infection control

  Internal air quality (IAQ) might not immediately come to mind when one thinks of infection...

Issue 2, February 1, 2021 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How healthcare workers can prepare for the unexpected

  With hindsight, it’s easy to plan and train for an emergency that’s happened before...

• Keyes Q&A: Generator lighting, fire dampers, eyewash stations, ISLM fire drills

  Each month, Brad Keyes, CHSP, owner of Keyes Life Safety Compliance, answers your questions about...

• AAAHC issues COVID-19 risk prevention guidelines

  Following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Accreditation...

• Q&A: Water fixture maintenance

  Showerheads, faucets, and spigots: Maintaining them and keeping them operating smoothly is key to...

• Q&A: Water fixture infection control

  It’s common knowledge that healthcare water systems can be a source of healthcare-acquired...

Issue 1, January 4, 2021 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• TJC at ASHE: New requirements, revised process and tougher job for LSC surveyors

  Expect The Joint Commission (TJC) to get tougher on water management and infection control...

• DNV GL virtual conference: Physical environment hot spots

  At the 2020 DNV GL Virtual Conference, viewers learned about these issues from PE experts Randy...

• Keyes Q&A: Generator fuel testing, cove base, city bypass valves, access control locks

  Q: I have a question about the annual fuel testing of emergency generators. It doesn't specify...

• Questions for 2021

  With this being the new year’s first issue of Healthcare Life Safety Compliance, we decided...

• TJC at ASHE: New water management standard specifies requirements

  Your facility will need diagrams or schematics of its water system and a way to address stagnant...

• Healthcare Life Safety Compliance's 2020 index

  We’ve just made an index of our 2020 HLSC articles to help you find the stories you need...