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Most-cited standards in 2018 show you need to check your sprinkler heads

Healthcare Life Safety Compliance, May 1, 2019

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.

By A.J. Plunkett (aplunkett@decisionhealth.com)

In case you were wondering, surveyors for The Joint Commission (TJC) are still inspecting sprinkler heads for dust, dirt and damage. And still finding it. A lot of it.

Be prepared to replace sprinkler heads if TJC finds the dirt or damage is enough to potentially cause a high likelihood for harm, a category under the SAFER Matrix scoring that could ultimately threaten your accreditation status if enough requirements for improvement (RFI) pile up.

Violations under Life Safety standard LS.02.01.35, which requires hospitals to provide and maintain fire extinguishing systems, led all standards for the most RFIs in 2018. A whopping 88.85% of the 1,460 hospitals surveyed in the annual roundup of top challenges were cited under that standard, according to TJC’s April issue of Perspectives.

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.

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