Joint Commission and HFAP start surveying to the 2012 Life Safety Code®

As of today, CMS, The Joint Commission, and HFAP will be surveying hospitals to the 2012 Life Safety Code® (LSC). The LSC was adopted by CMS in June, with some of the big changes required under the final rule including:

•    Facilities located in buildings taller than 75 feet are required to install automatic sprinkler systems within 12 years after the rule’s effective date.
•    Facilities are required to have a fire watch or building evacuation if their sprinkler systems is out of service for more than 10 hours.
•    Greater flexibility for long-term care (LTC) facilities in what they can place in corridors. LTC facilities will be able to include more home-like items such as fixed seating in the corridor for resting and certain decorations in patient rooms.
•    Fireplaces will be permitted in smoke compartments without a one-hour fire wall rating, which makes a facility more home-like for residents.
•    For ambulatory surgical centers, alcohol-based hand rub dispensers now may be placed in corridors to allow for easier access.
•    Fire watches must be continuous, “constantly circulating” through impaired areas.
•    All side-hinged swinging fire doors must be tested annually.
•    Once every five years, an internal inspection of sprinkler pipe is required.
•    Fire hose valves must be inspected quarterly and tested annually/every three years, depending on size.
•    1-hour fire-rated barriers are required between non-sprinklered construction areas and occupied egress areas.

For more changes, visit the Federal Register to see the full list of changes. Accreditation agencies have updated and released their revised codes and standards over the summer in response to the new LSC.

HFAP has released its prepublication manuals for:
•    Acute Care Hospitals (ACH): With changes made in Chapters 9, 11, and 13 of the manual
•    Critical Access Hospital (CAH): With changes made in Chapters 3, Chapter 14, and Chapter 17. There’s also a CAH Facility Demographic Report and a HFAP-CMS Crosswalk.
•    Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC): With changes for ASCs are in Chapter 5, and include a ASC Facility Demographic Report.

The Joint Commission published its revised standards for the ambulatory care, behavioral healthcare, critical access hospital, hospital, home care, and nursing care center programs reflecting the new LSC.

Prepublication Standards
•    Ambulatory Care
•    Behavioral Health Care
•    Critical Access Hospital
•    Hospital
•    Home Care
•    Nursing Care Centers
Comparison Tables (compares July 2016 to January 2017)
•    Ambulatory Care
•    Behavioral Health Care
•    Critical Access Hospital
•    Hospital
•    Home Care
•    Nursing Care Centers

To get up to speed on the 2012 LSC, check out the following resources from HCPro Marketplace:
•    The New Life Safety Code®: How to Prepare in Advance
•    The New Life Safety Code® Workbook and Study Guide for Healthcare Facilities
•    The New Life Safety Code® Field Guide for Healthcare Facilities

View the CMS press release on the LSC here.