ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of some of the facility safety challenges facing healthcare organizations. Standards pertinent to healthcare facilities and maintenance functions can be found in 29 CFR 1910, 29 CFR 1926, American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards, and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes or standards. Most facilities also must deal with a myriad of local and state laws, codes, and regulations. Control measures should be implemented to reduce facility hazards. Healthcare organizations must deal with safety issues on a daily basis, such as wet floors, stairway obstructions, chemical use, tools, and faulty ladders, to name a few. Safety, facility, and engineering personnel must identify risks and implement processes to minimize adverse impacts on buildings, grounds, equipment, occupants, and the entire care environment. Healthcare leaders must address the safety risks associated with providing services to patients. Facility and general safety also impacts workers, visitors, and contractors; a good facility safety effort should stress the safety of those maintaining the facilities and the physical environment of the campus:
• Develop a written plan to address the management of the care environment. • Designate a person to coordinate safety functions. • Identify a person to intervene in events threatening life and health or property. • Review general safety policies as often as necessary but at least every 3 years. • Respond to product safety recalls by taking appropriate actions. • Ensure proper maintenance of all facility grounds and equipment. • Conduct periodic environmental tours to assess safety program effectiveness. • Assess staff knowledge behaviors during periodic environmental tours. • Identify new or altered tasks that could pose risks in construction areas. • Evaluate areas with changes in services to identify improvement opportunities. • Conduct environmental tours or surveys to identify hazards and unsafe practices. • Conduct inspections every 6 months in all patient areas and annually in nonpatient
areas.
