Recommendations for Hospital Plant Engineers

In accordance with the new EP for Standard EC.740, most hospital Plant operation engineers already know the requirements for testing emergency generators; at least once every 36 months for a minimum of 4 continuous hours. But, the engineers also need to take into account the Joint Commission Recommendations:

Perform a gap analysis on emergency power systems that matches the critical equipment and systems needed in an extended emergency scenario against the equipment and systems that are actually on the emergency power systems.
Maintain a complete, labeled inventory of all emergency power systems and the loads they serve.
Provide competency training and testing for all operators and others responsible for system maintenance of the emergency power supply system.
Test generator fuel oil, track expiration dates, and replace stale fuel oil not consumed within its storage life.
Ensure that engineering staff communicate the capabilities and limitations of the emergency power supply system to the organizations management and clinical leaders.
Establish contingency plans for clinicians to follow during brief or sustained losses of emergency power and include this as part of the orientation and periodic continuing educational activities for the medical and other clinical staff. These plans should focus on the requirements set forth in standard EC.7.20, etc.

The recommendations of Joint commission will likely become requirements in the near future, and hospital engineers need to be aware of recommendations in order to not be caught unprepared.

Submitted by C. Alan McGregor, C.A.M. Group, LLC, (866) 652-9050.

Healthcare Construction Contacts and Websites

Agencies
Southern Building Code Congress International
http://www.sbcci.org

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/cdc.html

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
http://www.cms.gov

EPA Environmental Protection Agency
http://www.epa.gov

FDA- Food and Drug Administration
http://www.fda.gov

NIOSH National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html

Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration
http://www.fdhc.state.fl.us/index.html

OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration
http://www.osha.gov

JCAHO Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
http://www.jcaho.org

Department of Homeland Security
http://www.dhs.gov