As the use of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in medical devices continues to grow, so does the need for life safety professionals to know the risks and responses to a Li-ion fire. Li-ion batteries have gained popularity as they hold more energy for longer than other battery types and weigh less...
No matter what else might be happening, no matter what issues you may be dealing with, when it comes to physical environment compliance as a source of vulnerabilities, the regulators don't care.
As you read this (if you’re partaking during the week of publication), I am taking some time...
Fire safety in healthcare settings has always been a critical concern, demanding rigorous adherence to protocols and continuous improvement of practices. In this article, expert Lauris V. Freidenfelds, discusses updated practices for fire drills, emphasizing the necessity of...
One of the things I’ve learned over time is that there are certain systems/practices, etc. for which it is better to have and not need, as opposed to needing and not having. And one of the more devastating occurrences can be a fire in a kitchen.
One of the local (to me) stories that I’ve been following involves the recovery efforts of Signature Healthcare Brockton (Massachusetts) Hospital following a devastatingly complicated electrical fire last year.
This is Part 2 of our interview on laboratory emergency equipment with Sean G. Kaufman, CEO and founding partner of the lab safety company Safer Behaviors, covering necessities like fire extinguishers, spill kits, eyewash stations, and emergency showers.
Sitting in your laboratory, can you point out the nearest spill kit, fire extinguisher, eyewash station, and emergency shower? How long did it take you to locate them? Without looking, can you name the PPE and cleaning materials inside your spill kit? What type of fire extinguisher do you have?...
Assessing compliance with the LSC has always been a tricky proposition, since a deficiency that is obvious to one individual might not be so obvious to another, based on surveyors’ different levels of knowledge.
In reviewing the April 2024 edition of Joint Commission Perspectives, specifically the Consistent Interpretations column, I noticed that almost a third of the hospitals surveyed in 2023 were cited for issues relating to the weekly inspection of Emergency Power Supply System (EPSS)...
Scott Wytosick, a fire and life safety consultant at Jensen Hughes, catches up this month with Healthcare Safety Leader to discuss topics such as adapting Life Safety Code® (LSC) compliance for a post-pandemic world, the future of remote inspections by authorities having jurisdiction (AHJ), and...