Fire Safety Rule by CMS for Certain Healthcare Facilities
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a final rule (https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection) to update health care facilities? fire safety and protection guidelines to help improve all Medicare beneficiaries from facility fires.
The new guidelines apply to sectors:
- Hospitals;
- Long term care (LTC) facilities;
- Critical access hospitals (CAHs);
- Inpatient hospice facilities;
- Programs for all inclusive care for the elderly (PACE);
- Religious non-medical healthcare institutions (RNHCI);
- Ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs); and
- Intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ICF-IID).
This rule offers updated provisions of the National Fire Protection Association?s (NFPA) 2012 edition of the Life Safety Code (LSC) as well as provisions of the NFPA?s 2012 edition of the Health Care Facilities Code. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services(CMS) focuses on promoting health and safety for all patients, family and staff in every provider and supplier setting. Fire safety requirements are an important part of this effort. Along with this, it also meets health care facilities’ desire to modernize their environments and also ensuring the necessary steps to provide patients and staff with the appropriate level of safety.” CMS promises that ?Health care facilities can now be more home-like while ensuring that the most modern fire protection practices are in place.?
The provisions in this final rule cover:
- Construction,
- Protection, and
- Operational features designed to provide safety for Medicare beneficiaries from fire, smoke, and panic.
Some of the main requirements laid out in this final rule include:
- Health care facilities located in buildings that are taller than 75 feet are required to install automatic sprinkler systems within 12 years after the rule?s effective date.
- Health care facilities are required to have a fire watch or building evacuation if their sprinkler systems is out of service for more than ten hours.
- Long term care (LTC) facilities greater flexibility in what they can place in corridors.
- Cannot include benches or other seating areas because of fire code requirements limiting potential barriers to firefighters.
- Long term care(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 (such as pictures and other items of home decor).
- Fireplaces will be permitted in smoke compartments without a one hour fire wall rating, which makes a facility more home-like for residents.
- Cooking facilities now may have an opening to the hallway corridor. This will permit residents of inpatient facilities such as nursing homes to make food for themselves or others if they choose to, and, if the patient does decide to make food, facility staff is able to provide supervision of the patient.
For Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASC)s, all doors to hazardous areas must be self-closing or must close automatically. Alcohol based hand rub dispensers now may be placed in corridors to allow for easier access.