According to a blog by Krista Biason, of HGA Architects & Engineers on the Electrical Construction & Maintenance website, healthcare facilities' ground fault protection have additional requirements beyond other types of construction.
When ground fault protection is required on the service disconnecting means, a second level is then required in a healthcare facility that uses life-support equipment, Biason wrote.
The rules for an emergency (essential) distribution system are different, however.
Additional requirements are designed to make sure someone will know if a ground fault has occurred in the equipment, so it requires some type of ground fault sensing for the equipment if ground fault tripping is not installed.