By David Stymiest, PE, CHFM, FASHE
An article by TJC Director of Engineering George Mills in the August 2012 edition of EC News discussed at length the continuing issue of corridor clutter. This article is in the EC News “Clarifications and Expectations” column that is intended to increase accredited organizations’ awareness of the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code®.1 We recommend that you obtain and review this article and its follow-up article in the next issue of EC News.
Corridors need to be kept clear of clutter because of NFPA 101 Life Safety Code® requirements and also for ease of rapid patient movement in response to emergency conditions.
Crash carts and isolation carts may be stored in corridors while they are “in use” according to TJC. Crash carts must always be available and ready for use, so they are always “in use.” Isolation carts are in use as long as they are outside a patient room to which the patient for that cart has been assigned. An isolation cart outside a patient room is not in use after that patient has been discharged. If a hospital chooses to use door-hanging isolation cabinets rather than isolation carts, it is important to ensure that all NFPA 101 Life Safety Code® clear width requirements are maintained when the door is open. With the door closed the maximum six inch obstruction rule (reducing corridor width by not more than six inches) still applies even to that cabinet.
The multi-jurisdictional Healthcare Interpretations Task Force (HITF) has considered the issue of temporarily “storing” or holding patients in exit access corridors due to emergency department throughput challenges. After a thorough discussion of the pros and cons associated with this practice, the HITF adopted a policy position against the practice unless it is necessitated by “declared surge emergency situations that might occur as result of manmade or natural disaster events.” Hospitals should review the full policy position. (For those who do not subscribe to EC News the NFPA’s HITF web page is available at www.nfpa.org/displayContent.asp?categoryID=829, and the minutes of that December 9, 2008 HITF meeting are available at http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/CodesStandards/HITFMinutes12908.pdf.)
Computers on wheels that have not been actively used for charting or other patient documentation for 30 minutes are no longer considered to be in use and according to Mr. Mills “must be stored in an acceptable place – which is not the egress corridor.”
In several recent conferences, Mr. Mills has also been stating that, based upon HITF interpretation, linen hampers and latex carts are not allowed to be parked in exit access corridors. Whether or not this topic is further addressed by TJC in next month’s EC News, it is worth noting that the 30 minute time limit “in use” exemption by HITF in its December 2007 interpretation entitled “Portable Devices/Equipment in Corridors” only specifically addressed crash carts and isolation carts with the statement “Note: This limitation should not be applied to crash carts or isolation carts.” The December 2007 interpretation is available from NFPA at http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/CodesStandards/HITFMinutes1207.pdf.
1 Life Safety Code® is a registered trademark of the National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA.
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