Why does it happen? Because it happens…

By Steve MacArthur, Hospital Safety Consultant

As to that thought/question (or question/thought), for those of you working through your utility systems risk assessments to ensure compliance with NFPA 99 Chapter 4: How are you accounting for components/equipment that aren’t necessarily being managed through your work order system? I’m think of systems like pharmacy hoods, nurse call systems, IT equipment, etc. Strictly speaking, those would fall under the categories found in NFPA 99, so are you reaching out for the info or are those stakeholders doing their own risk assessments? To be honest, I’m not sure how much of a compliance vulnerability this might be. I know it’s important to identify and appropriately manage your high-risk utility systems components and that’s certainly a potential area of scrutiny during a survey (particularly if they start moving towards a more extensive, virtual document review process). It can be a chore trying to account for everything that would be considered a utility system component, especially if you don’t have it in “your” inventory.

I know there have been instances in the past relative to the management of medical equipment in which primary stakeholders like imaging or lab services manage their own equipment inspection, testing, and maintenance without ever really bringing performance data, etc., up through the EOC committee function. Anything that is considered medical equipment, as would be the case with utility systems equipment, is part of the hospitalwide program and needs to be represented as such. There is no specific frequency for these “branches” of your programmatic “tree” to be reported at EOC, but you need to be able to trace the associated processes as a function of your EOC program.

Have a great week and stay safe. Perhaps autumn will bring a change in fortunes!

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 the author of HCPro's Hospital Safety Director's Handbook and is contributing editor for Healthcare Safety Leader. Contact Steve at stevemacsafetyspace@gmail.com.