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.

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Issue 12, December 5, 2020

• Earthquake safety for hospitals: Before, during, and after

  It behooves all hospitals to make a plan for earthquake safety and response. Even though they...

• Keyes Q&A: Testing/inspection documentation, disinfectant hand wipes, control valves

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

• Saving money and water in healthcare

  With more droughts and heat waves expected in upcoming years, it’s time for hospitals and...

Issue 11, November 2, 2020 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Winter life safety tips

  With temperatures dropping and snow on the way in many states, hospitals and clinics need to work...

• Keyes Q&A: Door locks, grid ceilings, 10-second delay, business occupation classifications

  Q: We are a psychiatric hospital with more than 100 beds. Our patient eating area has two exits...

• Q&A: Exits, slips, pipes, and evacuations in the snow

  Winter snow, ice, and cold should be a few weeks away—but it’s 2020, so we...

• Clean air in a wildfire: Preparing your hospital's air filtration system for smoke and particulates

  An increase in smoke puts more pressure on air filtration systems for hospitals and clinics...

• TJC releases advice to protect well-being of healthcare workers during pandemic

  As usual, healthcare workers are asked to take on some of the hardest work during this pandemic...

Issue 10, October 5, 2020 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Q&A: How to prevent hospital-acquired pressure ulcers/injuries

  Patients on ventilators who are unable to reposition themselves are among the most vulnerable to...

• Keyes Q&A: Generator tests, fire watches, spare sprinkler heads, energy cut-out switches

  Q: Where can I find the exact documentation requirements for weekly and monthly generator tests...

• COVID-19 and the Hierarchy of Controls

  With a spike in both COVID-19 and influenza cases expected this fall, many are reexamining and...

• Beware of fraud when searching to bolster supplies in a crisis

  When trying to procure necessary supplies during a disaster or emergency, be aware of potential...

Issue 9, September 1, 2020 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Use of force in healthcare

  There are things your healthcare security team, with the help of leadership and other staff, can...

• Keyes Q&A: Hazardous areas, exit doors, panic buttons, gas shutoff valves

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

• NFPA ramps up online resources with COVID-19 related compliance information

  Look to two white papers available online from the NFPA to help you sort Life Safety Code®...

• Reopening your hospital: Flush water pipes, double-check maintenance

  As you reopen patient care areas for non-emergent care, be sure to flush water lines, check...

• CMS offers recommendations for reopening facilities

  Here are some of the highlights from the recommendations by CMS for reopening healthcare facilities...

Issue 8, August 3, 2020 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How to update your restraint and seclusion policy

  What to look for when updating your restraint and seclusion policies

• Keyes Q&A: Wet location risk assessments, hospital-grade outlets, electric griddles, oxygen cylinders

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

• (Un)safe restraints

  Restraints are a dangerous, last-resort method, says Kevin Ann Huckshorn, PhD, MSN, RN, CADC, ICRC...

• Q&A: PPE success during the COVID-19 pandemic

  It’s not an understatement to say that most people who work in healthcare organizations...

Issue 7, July 6, 2020 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Former surveyor reveals common problems with LSC documentation

  In the May issue of Healthcare Safety Leader, Brad Keyes, CHSP, a former TJC surveyor and advisor...

• Keyes Q&A: Pergolas, doors, fire extinguishers, and hazardous rooms

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

• TJC, other AOs to change survey focus in wake of pandemic

  As regular survey activities slowly resume, expect The Joint Commission (TJC) and other...

• What does TJC say about future surveys?

  “Our survey process will look somewhat different, as we will need to employ physical...

• CMS emergency waivers now include some testing, inspections

  After several requests, CMS finally issued a waiver for some—but not all—equipment...

• Study: Using Bed Barriers Cuts Down on C. diff

  The study, conducted by researchers at Xavier University in Cincinnati and Bon Secours Mercy...

Issue 6, June 1, 2020 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• California hospitals plan for power outages

  California hospitals already dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic must also be ready...

• Q&A: Para-slides, hot water, generator battery heaters, rolling fire doors

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

• Creating airborne infection isolation rooms in a crisis

  When trying to isolate an infectious or immunocompromised patient from the rest of your facility...

• Field hospital resources

  There are several factors that need to be considered when designing a field facility, such as...

• Reusing N95 masks

  “Only respirator manufacturers can reliably provide guidance on how to decontaminate their...

• Reduce your workplace violence with initiatives from VCU Health

  Healthcare organizations carry a heavy workplace violence burden, with about three-quarters of...

• EPA releases list of disinfectants for use on novel coronavirus

  The EPA has released a list of 82 registered disinfectant products that have been qualified for use...

Issue 5, May 4, 2020 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Lessons from pandemics past

  The test of our ability to keep the healthcare system running in the face of the coronavirus...

• Keyes Q&A: Hand sanitizer, Med Sleds, suites, emergency generators

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

• Safety first: Five steps to better Life Safety and Emergency Preparedness

  While these regulations impact facilities nationwide, an incident in New York has shed a light on...

• Waiting room safety: Infection, furniture, and power outlets

  Cleaning and keeping a healthcare waiting room safe for patients is a difficult task. Many elements...

• University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics policy: Cleaning of toys

  Use this policy, shared courtesy of Lynda Bailey, RN, BSN, CSHA, accreditation specialist for...

• Work with linen provider to manage availability, cut down on hoarding

  Watch out for clean linen hoarding in your patient care units by busy staff who don’t have...

Issue 4, April 1, 2020 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Ensuring the power stays on

  The Power P.I.O.N.E.E.R. (Power Information Needed to Expedite Emergency Response) system monitors...

• Keyes Q&A: LED lighting, travel distance, drywall screws, testing frequencies

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

• Massachusetts weighs hospital wayfinding regulation

  Law would mandate improved signage and security at hospital entrance  

• CMS updates its surveyors' manual for the first time in over a year

  CMS is revising its State Operations Manual (SOM) for hospitals in one of the first significant...

• CMS eliminates 2nd survey for psychiatric hospitals, to merge B-tags into SOMA

  CMS announced it is combining the interpretive guidelines that its surveyors use for psychiatric...

Issue 3, March 2, 2020 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• ECRI: 2020 health tech hazards

  Misuse of surgical staplers is the top medical technology hazard for 2020, according to the ECRI...

• Keyes Q&A: Sliding doors, hazardous rooms, hydrocollators, fire dampers

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

• Examine your dialysis space to ensure room to separate infectious patients

  Hemodialysis is one of four areas The Joint Commission (TJC) says it’s increasing focus on...

• Dialysis tips

  Here are some tips from Kathleen Good, MSN, RN, a former surveyor with The Joint Commission and now...

• Becoming a High-Reliability Organization Through Shared Learning of Safety Events

  Nearly 20 years after the publication of the Institute of Medicine’s report To Err Is Human...

• Safety by design: Pediatrics

  Hospitals are designing pediatric facilities in ways that help children and families face medical...

• Touching eyes: Disinfecting ophthalmology devices

  The Quick Safety, Issue 49 advisory from The Joint Commission (TJC) was released in May 2019, and...

Issue 2, February 1, 2020 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Clarification: 1135 waivers, temporary suspension of rules during a disaster

  Joint Commission–accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals must have a process in...

• Keyes Q&A: Generator fuel testing, sprinklers in elevator pits, corridor walls

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

• Environment of Care: What to Expect in the Upcoming Year

  This excerpt comes from the HCPro book, Environment of Care Compliance Manual, Sixth Edition.

• Fire safety may trump ligature risk, but surveyors likely will want both

  TJC's newest engineering director, Herman A. McKenzie, MBA, CHSP, told hospital leadership that...

• Creating a culture of safety

  The better alternative for keeping a medical clinic safe is to create an environment where...

• Suicide NPSG now applies to critical access hospitals

  Critical access hospitals (CAH) accredited by The Joint Commission (TJC) will be expected to...

Issue 1, January 5, 2020 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How to make facility inspections easier

  Just because you’re not the hospital’s administrator or safety officer doesn’t...

• Ligature risk, infection control top concerns at Executive Briefings

  Widespread ligature risks, incomplete environmental risk assessments, and lack of a mitigation plan...

• Q&A: Smoke detectors, oxygen cylinder storage, sprinkler types, and remote power taps

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

• Top EC problems include infection control, risk assessments, documentation

  Herman A. McKenzie, MBA, CHSP, the new director of TJC’s Department of Engineering, offered a...

• Top LS issues involve usual suspects: Sprinkler systems, means of egress

  Cables attached to sprinkler lines, dirty sprinkler heads, obstructions, and problems with escape...

• Healthcare Life Safety Compliance 2019 index

  If you need to review any topics, we’ve created this index of HLSC articles to help you...