Mind the gap: Measuring bottom clearances of fire-rated door assemblies
Healthcare Life Safety Compliance, November 1, 2017
This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Healthcare Life Safety Compliance.
The CMS deadline for annual fire door inspections is New Year's Day 2018, but AOs aren't bound by that
By adopting the 2012 edition of the Life Safety Code® (LSC) last year as a condition of participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, CMS effectively adopted the 2010 edition of NFPA 80 as well. That's because, unlike the 2000 edition, the 2012 edition of the LSC requires that fire door assembles be installed, tested, and maintained in accordance with NFPA 80, which addresses fire doors and other opening protectives. Facilities that participate in the CMS programs, therefore, must ensure that their fire doors are up to spec.
The compliance deadline for annual door inspections had been July 5, 2017, but CMS postponed that deadline by nearly six months after receiving questions and pushback. As far as CMS is concerned, healthcare organizations now have until January 1, 2018, to con-duct the required annual tests of fire doors in accord-ance with section 8.3.3.1 of the 2012 LSC. That doesn't prevent an accrediting organization from moving for-ward, of course, with the original deadline, which is why experts have been advising facilities to tackle their tests as soon as possible.
The CMS memo that postponed the deadline—known formally as Memo #17-38-LSC: Fire and Smoke Door Annual Testing Requirements in Health Care Occupancies—also clarified that smoke barrier doors aren't subject to the annual inspection and testing requirement, though even non-rated doors "should be rou-tinely inspected as part of the facility maintenance program." That means, of course, that you should track your facility's door inspections in a manner that easily differentiates between fire doors and smoke barrier doors.
This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Healthcare Life Safety Compliance.
Related Products
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- CMS seeks comment on quality measures
- Practice the six rights of medication administration
- Don't forget the three checks in medication administration
- Note similarities and differences between HCPCS, CPT® codes
- Nursing responsibilities for managing pain
- ICD-10-CM coma, stroke codes require more specific documentation
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- Q&A: Primary, principal, and secondary diagnoses
- CMS creates web portal for questions about 1135 waivers, PHE
- Clearing up the confusion: CPT codes 76376 and 76377
- E-mailed
-
- Coronavirus vaccination: 4 best practices for communicating with patients
- Grievances, Complaints, and Patients’ Rights
- Keyes Q&A: Generator lighting, fire dampers, eyewash stations, ISLM fire drills
- Including 46600 in E/M leveling systems
- How to get reimbursed for restorative nursing
- Fetal non-stress tests represent important part of maternal and fetal health
- Coding, billing, and documentation tips for teaching physicians, interns, residents, and students
- Coding tip: Know how to correctly code each procedure an otolaryngologist can perform on turbinates
- Coding Clinic reiterates guidelines for provider documentation
- CMS creates web portal for questions about 1135 waivers, PHE
- Searched