Safety - March 2013
Extending deadline for nursing home sprinklers open for comment
A proposed deadline extension for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) requirement that all nursing home facilities have automatic sprinkler systems by August 13 is open for comment.
3/19/2013
More than 8,000 hospital safety violations now publicly searchable
A searchable database of federal safety rule violations at about 1,000 hospitals since 2011 is now available.
3/18/2013
Pre-incident planning at facilities aids first responders in emergency
Understanding what is front of mind for first responders can help facility managers better prepare for what will happen in the event of an emergency.
3/14/2013
Fire alarm systems can provide emergency control function of non-fire alarm systems
Though the code language might be tricky to decipher, fire code does allow fire alarm systems to interface with non-fire alarm systems in order to provide emergency control function.
3/13/2013
Hospital emergency response during Hurricane Sandy shows lessons learned
The successful evacuation of about 6,000 people from various NYC healthcare facilities due to Hurricane Sandy, including five city hospitals, speaks to the great strides the industry has made in emergency response planning after Hurricane Katrina.
3/6/2013
Automatic fire sprinklers now standard in nursing home facilities
By August 13, 2013, nursing homes must have automatic fire sprinklers as a precondition of participating in the Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement program. But the road to this regulation has been a long time coming.
3/4/2013