Hospital Drills

[Just John]

2009 IFC Section 405.2 Group I requires drills quarterly on each shift with employees participating.

In a 7 story high-rise I-2 - if an initiating device is activated notification devices are activated on three floors (the fire floor, and floors above, and below).

In an alarm the whole building does not particiate, only the three floors.

The drills are conducted so all shifts participate quarterly.

The drill floors are rotated.

Does a drill have to include "ALL" the employees in the whole building per quarter per shift; or is just the employees on the three floors adequate to meet Code? The Commentary was no help.

 

[midwestFCO]

I read it as familiarizing all employees with drill procedures, so if floors 4, 5 & 6 have a drill today and they evacuate or relocate, the other employees on the other floors should know the drill is happening and know they may be required to assist with patient relocation, evac, etc. I'd say that counts as familiarization and complete evacuation and/or alarm activation would not be required because I think they're making an honest effort to familiarize they're staff while keeping the operation running. I would make sure the alarm procedures are explained very thoroughly in new employee orientation.

Just my 2-cents and how I would handle it here.

 

[Just John]

If drill is on floor 6, alarms sound on 5,6,and 7. Only employees on 5,6, and 7 take part, the rest of the hospital is oblivious to drill. This is done for all three shifts for that quarter. Basement through 4th floor do nothing. They state the usual that this is they way other high-rise hospitals do this as they cannot interupt all services at once, and that in the course of a year all employees would have gone through a drill.

Is the intent of 405.2 to have "ALL" the employees of the whole hospital go through a drill each quarter, or have a drill somewhere in the building and the affected floors employees participate.

 

[cda]

also, I think the feds/ state require training, so that might just count

are you mandating the drills and want documentation?

 

[north star]

+ + + + +

Do alarms sound on all floors when the drills are taking place, or only

on the 3 affected floors ?......IMO, I am thinking that only the 3

affected floors would need to "completely evacuate the building"

for the drills, but if the alarms are sounding on all floors, that ALL

employees need to have a heightened awareness and posture....Heck,

it might even be an actual emergency event that WOULD require

complete evacuation of the bldg., ...employees and residents.

The heightened awareness & posture needs to be communicated

regularly, both verbally and in writing.

+ + + + +

 

[Just John]

I have contacted the State Health Department and they said: A) in hospitals alarm tests are requried monthly by CMS (centers for medicare and medicaid services) and B) drills must include the whole building with the affected floors going through the proper proceedures verbally with the rest of the building closing doors and at standby alert. Documentation must be kept on all. Hospital is appealing the interpretation. Thanks to all for your comments...

 

[midwestFCO]

Interesting. Thank you for the follow-up.

 

[cda]

I have contacted the State Health Department and they said: A) in hospitals alarm tests are requried monthly by CMS (centers for medicare and medicaid services) and B) drills must include the whole building with the affected floors going through the proper proceedures verbally with the rest of the building closing doors and at standby alert. Documentation must be kept on all. Hospital is appealing the interpretation. Thanks to all for your comments...

Did not know it was monthly but new the Feds/ state required something

Appealing, that's a good one

Guess they were not even doing the state mandated stuff

 

[peach]

Just John: unfortunately, with a high rise package, only the fire floor, the floors above and below will get the alarm (IRL).. in a fully involved building, the alarms will go off eventually on more floors, but evacuate the floors with immediate danger first. (That's why there is such a thing as a high rise package).

 

[Sifu]

I couple years ago I conducted a fire drill in a nursing home. I waited in an empty patient room until a staff member came in and I informed her that I was conducting a drill. I told her that She was to act as though she had just discovered a fire in the room. She said "what do I do?" I said "act like you should, like you should have been trained." She ran out of the room, down the corridor and out the door. They failed.

 

[peach]

Medical facilities are probably the worst, frankly. It's not as much getting patients out as it is getting them to a place of refuge; once the elevators recall, it's going to be tough to evacuate.

It's not like it's easy to move patients on life support.

We saw what happened in New Orleans during Katrina; even with advance notice of the hurricane and given that hospitals are generally designed to be safer.. those doctors and nurses were, at the end of the day, were faced with agonizing choices.

 

[Just John]

Follow up on the hospital appeal... The hospital went to the CMS district manager and he said the States interpetation of requiring monthy alarms was WRONG and that their requirements are the same as what is required by NFPA 72. Thanks for all your help!