Medical Environment Update: A discussion about fire attention and prevention
Hospital Safety Insider, November 3, 2016
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Hospital Safety Insider!
A discussion about fire attention and prevention
October was Fire Prevention Month, but you should be thinking fire safety throughout the year
Editor's note: In this guest column, Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP), SLS, laboratory safety officer for Sentara Healthcare in Virginia and otherwise known as "Dan, the Lab Safety Man," discusses the important issues that affect your job every day.
It's that time when you should be raising awareness about fire safety in the laboratory. Fires occur in high enough numbers in the United States (even in laboratories) that we need to pay attention and focus on prevention.
The College of American Pathologists (CAP) uses eight checklist standards to cover lab fire safety, and even though CAP has made some changes in the past few years, all of the elements are still there to help you prepare and protect your staff in the event of a fire. There are many fire sources in the lab setting, and even more fire accelerants, and their presence alone should help us realize the importance of fire safety knowledge. However, many go through their daily work routines without giving fire safety a second thought. When a fire occurs, they will not be ready, and the results could be devastating.
Fire safety training should be conducted with all staff. Per OSHA requirements, if a facility contains firefighting equipment, staff must have documented training on its use. See p. 6 for a sample attendance sheet that you can use for your training purposes, and keep training documentation on hand for three years.
Read more here.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Hospital Safety Insider!
Related Products
-
Hospital Safety Center
Improve compliance with hospital safety standards from The Joint Commission, OSHA, and other regulators with this...
-
Healthcare Life Safety Compliance
Created exclusively for healthcare facility managers, plant operations professionals, and directors of engineering, this...
-
Hospital Safety Insider
Stay on top of hospital safety requirements and best practices with our free, fast-paced weekly update.
-
Basic OSHA Compliance Manual Kit
Total compliance has never been easier. This one convenient package contains everything you need to ensure your outpatient...
-
Basic Dental OSHA Compliance Manual Kit
Total compliance has never been easier. This one convenient package contains everything you need to ensure your dental...
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- Don't forget the three checks in medication administration
- Note similarities and differences between HCPCS, CPT® codes
- Q&A: Primary, principal, and secondary diagnoses
- Practice the six rights of medication administration
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- Complications from immobility by body system
- Prevent dehydration with nursing interventions
- Coding Clinic reiterates guidelines for provider documentation
- Nursing responsibilities for managing pain
- E-mailed
-
- Capturing start and stop times for infusions
- Q&A: Sepsis as a primary diagnosis
- Note from the instructor: Billing Outpatient Laboratory Services - TOB 131 vs. TOB 141
- Learn how to read an OP report
- Inpatient-only procedures: Accuracy helps avoid denials, ensure compliance
- Don't forget the three checks in medication administration
- Coding, billing, and documentation tips for teaching physicians, interns, residents, and students
- Coding Clinic reiterates guidelines for provider documentation
- Clinical Corner: Revisiting respiratory failure
- Clear up confusion surrounding observation services
- Searched
