It’s been a long time: Revisiting an EOC perennial

Setting the wayback machine for the dark ages of safety (well, 2011 or so), we come to the last time we covered the monitoring of temperature and/or humidity in surgical spaces, etc. (if you want to revisit those halcyon days, you can head here). The funny thing about this most ancient of history is that, since then, while there have been changes in applicable codes and references, the “new” stuff comes up a little short when it comes to providing guidance relating to monitoring temperature and humidity, particularly as a function of frequency (I suppose we could call it the frequency function if we were being excessively alliterative). The baseline response (catty though it may be) is that you should be monitoring conditions on as frequent a basis as is required to ensure appropriate conditions, given due consideration of the systems you have in place, any manufacturers’ recommendations (which are also not particularly helpful in determining monitoring frequencies), and regulatory guidance (ASHRAE 170; state mechanical code) as applicable.

Ultimately, this all comes down (back?) to the requirements as outlined in the Conditions of Participation, which gives us:

• 482.41(c)(4) – There must be proper ventilation, light, and temperature controls in pharmaceutical, food preparation, and other appropriate areas.

So, you might well ask, what are those “other appropriate areas”? For that information, we need to head over to the State Operations Manual/Interpretive Guidelines, which is where the skeleton of the Conditions of Participation is fleshed out into the survey process.  And what do we find there? Take a look:

Interpretive Guidelines §482.41(c)(4) – There must be proper ventilation in at least the following areas:

• Areas using ethylene oxide, nitrous oxide, glutaraldehydes, xylene, pentamidine, or other potentially hazardous substances;
• Locations where oxygen is transferred from one container to another;
• Isolation rooms and reverse isolation rooms (both must be in compliance with Federal and State laws, regulations, and guidelines such as OSHA, CDC, NIH, etc.);
• Pharmaceutical preparation areas (hoods, cabinets, etc.);
• Laboratory locations; and
• Anesthetizing locations. According to NFPA 99, anesthetizing locations are “any area of a facility that has been designated to be used for the administration of nonflammable inhalation anesthetic agents in the course of examination or treatment, including the use of such agents for relative analgesia.” NFPA 99 defines relative analgesia as “A state of sedation and partial block of pain perception produced in a patient by the inhalation of concentrations of nitrous oxide insufficient to produce loss of consciousness (conscious sedation).” (Note that this definition is applicable only for Life Safety Code® purposes and does not supersede other guidance we have issued for other purposes concerning anesthesia and analgesia.)

Interesting to note that the list here does not quite match up with the totality of issues for which The Joint Commission is citing folks (clean and soiled utility rooms being first and foremost, though I know that it is merely an extrapolation of the ASHRAE 170 requirements). Also interesting to note that, sterile supply and processing is not specifically mentioned, but (again), I think we can see where the importance of maintaining those spaces drives out of ASHRAE 170.

But what’s the endgame when it comes down to the survey process? The general unhelpfulness of the answer will not surprise you:

• Review monitoring records for temperature to ensure that appropriate levels are maintained
• Review humidity maintenance records for anesthetizing locations to ensure, if monitoring determined humidity levels were not within acceptable parameters, that corrective actions were performed in a timely manner to achieve acceptable levels

So (still!) if you follow the temperature and humidity rabbit all the way back to the Interpretive Guidelines, we see that the surveyors are instructed to ask to see “records,” so it all comes down to what you can produce in terms of a deliverable that reflects that temperature and humidity levels are appropriate/acceptable and levels that were not within acceptable parameters (which they do not define, so you better have a sufficiently flexible definition) were dealt with in a “timely manner” (again, not defined, so it’s up to you, based on your risk assessment).

As a closing thought on this (for now), apparently there are some folks that have determined that they don’t have to monitor both elements (temperature and/or humidity) and if there is nothing else that you derive from this week’s missive, it is this: You gotta do both! You can determine the frequency (though I would recommend at least daily—if you recall, the question that started this conversation in 2011 was whether quarterly monitoring was sufficient), but you clearly want to be able to use performance data to make that determination (and from whence comes that data—regular monitoring). You can determine what is acceptable/appropriate (based on utilization, types of procedures, preference of surgical staff, etc.); you can determine what is a timely timeframe for corrective action (Timely Timeframe—that sounds like a name Stan Lee would’ve loved). But you gotta do the monitoring; to do otherwise risks too much if the CMSers darken your door (which is becoming a much more common occurrence).

One last quick note for this week: There seems to be a bit of a groundswell of survey findings relating to hand sanitizer dispensers not having drip trays. It would seem that there must have been some recent mention of this in surveyor education as there are some surveyors indicating that this is a new requirement, but the overarching requirement has been in place for rather a while. To whit (and, again, the State Operations Manual becomes then go-to resource):

• 482.41(b)(9) (ii) The dispensers are installed in a manner that minimizes leaks and spills that could lead to falls; with the associated Survey Procedure being: “Determine whether the hospital maintains the ABHR dispensers in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines, or, if there are no manufacturer’s guidelines, that the hospital has adopted policies and procedures to ensure that the dispensers neither leak nor the contents spill.”

Now, nowhere in the regulatory canon does it discuss drip trays (though, when you come right down to it, how else are you going to manage the threat of leaks/drips, especially over hard-surface flooring?). But apparently drip trays have become the “gold standard” for leak/drip control, so you might want to keep an eye on this for the future. These things do tend to spread and who wants to be chasing this during a (or post) survey? Not me.

About the Author: Steve MacArthur is a safety consultant with The Greeley Company in Danvers, Mass. He brings more than 30 years of healthcare management and consulting experience to his work with hospitals, physician offices, and ambulatory care facilities across the country. He is also a contributing editor for Healthcare Safety Leader. Contact Steve at stevemacsafetyspace@gmail.com.