ASHRAE documents on Legionella-prevention and health care ventilation up for public review

ASHRAE documents on Legionella-prevention and health care ventilation up for public review

Two important health care-related ASHRAE Guidelines are up for public review.

ASHRAE Guideline 12-2000R, a proposed revision of Guideline 12-2000 Managing the Risk of Legionellosis Associated with Building Water Systems, is up for its first full public review.

Also up for public review is Addendum n to the 2013 edition of ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170, Ventilation of Health Care Facilities. This is the second public review draft for the addendum.

Both documents are available on ASHRAE’s public review webpage. The 45-day public review period for each ends Sept. 11.

Joint Commission’s Medication Management Standard includes Environment of Care updates

The Joint Commission’s updated medication management (MM) standards are effective January 1, 2018, for all accredited ambulatory care organizations and office-based surgery practices.

In a recent post, By Kelly Podgorny, DNP, RN, project director in the Department of Standards and Survey Methods, reviewed the updates and strategies to help facilities stay in compliance.

Some of the updates do effect the physical environment. For instance, facility managers should implement a policy to provide emergency backup power for essential medication dispensing and refrigeration equipment as identified by the organization.

ASPR issues new emergency preparedness resources for health care coalitions

The Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response has issued several new resources to improve emergency preparedness efforts, decision-making processes and operational planning at health care organizations.

The resources include:

• Preparedness plan template
• Response plan template
• Resource and Gap analysis tool
• Pandemic checklist
• Surge test tool training
• Hospital disaster pharmacy calculator

Joint Commission highlights strategies to minimize noise, distractions in OR

In a Quick Safety Issue, the Joint Commission delved into strategies to reduce unnecessary noise and distraction in surgical environments.

One strategy recommended is to first benchmark noise levels and then provide evidence for noise-reduction strategies and empirical data reflecting efficacy of such strategies. The facility also can provide real-time information to the OR team as to when noise levels are exceeding recommended levels.