By Healthcare Facilities Today

For years, hospitals have had to deal with conflicting, outdated and unnecessary code requirements that take resources from other priorities, according to an article on the Healthcare Facilities Management magazine website. 

Code changes in recent years, however,  have helped to align the various codes regulating hospitals. These changes are making it easier for health care facilities to comply with the long list of codes and standards regulating them, the article said.

"We've made larger strides than we originally anticipated. One of the reasons for the success is that we've been taking a very collaborative approach," Chad Beebe, director of codes and standards for the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE), said in the article. 

In 2011, ASHE teamed with the International Code Council (ICC) to create the Ad Hoc Committee on Healthcare, a group that reviews ICC codes and recommends changes. The group includes fire officials, architects, building officials, hospital leaders, facility managers and engineers from around the country. It considers input from manufacturers, product developers, patient safety and advocacy groups, industry experts and associations.

By considering multiple perspectives during the committee process, the group ensures that its proposals are well-vetted before they move to the ICC for consideration, the article said. During the most recent code development cycle, the Ad Hoc Committee won approval of 38 out of 40 proposals.

For instance, one change will allow existing hospitals that are retrofitted to meet current building code standards to conform to the provisions of current codes. This proposal only applies to hospitals that bring their facilities up to current code standards, including being fully sprinklered, according to the article.  If a hospital built in 1980 is renovated to meet all aspects of 2009 building codes, the facility will be allowed to stop maintaining fire-resistance features that are not required in the 2009 codes.

Read the article.