Ambulatory Surgery Center Safety Guidebook

Ambulatory Surgery Center Safety Guidebook: Managing Code Requirements for Fire and Life Safety helps guide ASC administrative and security staff meet the requirements and standards of both federal and state authorities, including the Life Safety Code, a critical designation for facilities participating in Medicare (CMS) funding reimbursement. Designed for easy reference, the book assumes no code knowledge on the part of ASC staff, and provides guidance for the policies, emergency plans, drills, inspection, testing and maintenance of fire protection and building systems necessary for meeting Life Safety Code requirements. Through sample checklists and log sheets, and a systematic process for completing required documentation, the reader is directed through the crucial steps to achieving code compliance. The guide provides ASC staff the knowledge necessary to be in compliance with the Life Safety Code without the need for an outside security or safety consultant. Through this compliance, facilities remain licensed and qualified for Medicare reimbursement, ultimately improving the financial success of the ASC.

Dale Lyman, CFPS, CBO, CFM, is a 31-year fire service veteran who is the Fire Chief of a Northern Colorado fire department, and served as a Fire Marshal for 14 years. He is a National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS), International Code Council Certified Building Code Official, Certified Fire Marshal, and Certified Fire Code Official. An experienced incident commander, he served on the operations side of the fire department as a company officer, a battalion commander and the Emergency Manager of the City, and was the Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Fire Department for 14 years. As the PIO he has written dozens of Op-ed columns for the local newspaper on fire safety topics and has published two articles in national fire service trade journals. He is currently a member of two national fire and life safety code committees responsible for writing and revising future editions of the two codes that most directly impact health care facilities in the U. S.; the NFPA 101 Life safety Code and NFPA 99 Health Care Facilities Code. He also serves on the NFPA 99 Health Care Facilities Code Technical Committees for Fundamentals and Emergency Management/Security. He was recently selected as a member of the NFPA Building Fire Safety Systems Section Executive Committee. Additionally, he has conducted fire and life safety surveys for a health care accreditation agency at Ambulatory Surgery Centers throughout the U.S. In this role he applied his unique personal firefighting experiences in educating surgery center staffs in code requirements and the reasons behind the requirements, drawing from experiences at actual fires.

Part I: Fire and Life Safety in Ambulatory Surgery Centers1. Introduction2. Life Safety Code and the "Total Concept” Part 2: Physical Environment and Operational Requirements3. Building construction requirements4. Means of Egress5. Fire Extinguishers6. Fire Alarm Systems7. Fire Sprinkler Systems8. Emergency power systems/supplies and Electrical Systems9. Medical Gases10. Medical Equipment11. Alcohol Based Hand Rub Dispensers12. Facility Policy Requirements13. Staff Training Requirements14. Surgical Fires Part 3: Required Documentation for Code Compliance15. Model Documentation System