ASHE successfully defends remote inspection vote
ASHE successfully defends remote inspection vote
The American Society for Health Care Engineering’s Advocacy Team helped to secure a vital win at a recent National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) council meeting. The issue at hand concerned damper inspection requirements in the 2025 editions of NFPA 80, Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives, and NFPA 105, Standard for Smoke Door Assemblies and Other Opening Protectives. After hearing testimony from two sides, the NFPA Standards Council voted to uphold a 2024 NFPA Technical Meeting vote to remove the visual inspection requirement for fire/smoke dampers every 18 years in cases where hospitals utilize remote monitoring methods instead.
FGI issues interpretations on 2022 Guidelines
The Facility Guidelines Institute issued two interpretations to the 2022 Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals. The first impacts Section 2.2-2.3 (Oncology Patient Care Unit). The interpretation committee agreed that where an oncology patient care unit and a bone marrow/stem cell transplant unit are collocated on the same floor, an airborne infection isolation/protective environment room is required for each unit. The second was issued for Section 2.2-2.10.11.12 (Support areas for recovery spaces for cesarean delivery suite) and determined that a bedpan-rinsing device on a patient toilet could be an equivalent way to meet Section 2.2-2.10.11.12 (16) (Clinical sink) requirements.
CMS releases updated guidance for rural designation
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released revised guidance regarding Conditions of Participation and the conversion process for eligible hospitals interested in participating in Medicare and Medicaid as a rural emergency hospital (REH). REHs are a new provider type established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 to address concerns about rural hospital closures. They provide emergency and outpatient medical and health services to patients who typically stay less than 24 hours. CMS also released a fact sheet explaining more about REHs, including staff training and personnel requirements. As of Jan. 1, 2023, Medicare pays REHs an additional 5% over the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System rate to deliver REH services to Medicare patients.
ASHE spearheads concealed sprinkler code project
The American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) is actively gathering data on concealed fire sprinklers to enhance safety protocols. Concealed sprinklers, defined in the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, and referenced in NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems, are designed with a cover plate to aesthetically blend into the ceiling, making them less obtrusive. In 2022, the NFPA 25 committee proposed a five-year inspection interval to align with other maintenance activities requiring similar equipment, optimizing resource utilization.