Resource Library

Although the primary role of hospital engineering and maintenance staff is to service and maintain the building and equipment, it also plays an important role in preventing infections and other safety issues. By being constantly aware of their surroundings and watching for issues that can increase the risk of infection and other dangers, facility professionals can do even more to improve the safety of their buildings. This checklist provides a guide they can use as they walk through their facilities.

An effective preventive maintenance work flow should begin from the beginning of a construction project. ASHE’s “Construction to Maintenance Work Flow Tool” provides a diagram to help ensure that preventive maintenance operations are ingrained into the building of new facilities.

The performance of hazard surveillance rounds, as it relates to indoor air quality (IAQ), provides a key opportunity to identify IAQ issues. ASHE's “Indoor Air Quality Checklist Tool” can be used to supplement hazard surveillance rounds and incorporate items related to IAQ.

This downloadable Word document is a sample monthly log for maintaining special ventilation rooms.DOWNLOAD NOW

Taming building automation system alarm fatigue

Determine which requirements can be completed in-house and the possible cost benefits of each.

Door Inspection Tool 2019.

The ASHE CMS State Operations Manual Appendix A Crosswalk provides A-Tag information along with the related codes and standards applicable to the requirements for each A-Tag. To ensure that the tool is relevant to health care facility professionals, it focuses specifically on A-Tag requirements that affect the physical environment.

Health facility managers should start with an accurate inventory of all fire alarm and suppression devices to assure that the requirements are met. ASHE has created a sample template to track the inventory and compare it against testing completed throughout the year.

 

This document provides a comparison of the regulations applicable to most hospitals. It is important to verify the editions of the codes and standards that are applicable in your jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions may have adopted a different edition of the building code for construction. Many states have adopted other editions of the NFPA’s Life Safety Code®. For additional information, contact your state agency responsible for licensing hospitals.

Hospitals and health systems are working to address the environmental risks associated with the care of patients at risk for suicide and self-harm. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is currently creating comprehensive interpretive guidance, which will incorporate Joint Commission patient safety recommendations. To help hospitals and other health care facilities understand and implement these recommendations, ASHE is developing tools and resources for members.

This Useful Service Life (USL) Assessment Tool and Facilities Condition Index (FCI) Calculator tool will allow you to calculate your infrastructure health.

Developed by a group of experts, this Excel file can be used by health care organizations to assess their vulnerabilities and help manage their emergency preparedness programs. ASHE members are permitted to adapt this Excel tool for use at their facilities. Below is the Excel file and a PDF showing sample results. (To use the Excel file, delete the sample data from the Data Entry sheet and enable the macros to create the rest of the information based on your data.)

This downloadable Word document is a sample pressure relationship policy you can customize to fit the needs of your facility.DOWNLOAD NOW

Use this HVA tool to assist your multidisciplinary group in assessing and prioritizing exercises for potential hazards/risk.