Safety officers involved in more than safety

[The Patriot]

Safety is a different issue in health care, as compared to general industry. In the general industry, Occupational Health and Safety Administration compliance is king, and takes most of the efforts of the safety professional to ensure compliance. That isn't the situation in health care. While OSHA compliance is still important, it doesn't take nearly as much of the safety professional's efforts as Life Safety does. The main reason why is you have patients that are non-ambulatory and incapable of self-preservation in the hospital in the event of a fire. You also have 5 or 6 different agencies (Joint Commission, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, MEDCOM, Rodriguez Army Health Clinic, Fort Gordon fire inspector) that expect you to comply with the National Fire Protection Association 101 Life Safety Code, and they frequently inspect our facilities

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