Healthcare facilities management series最新文献

Utilities management has become a complex function in today's health care facility. Quality improvement, along with trending occurrences with utility equipment, will help the facilities manager reduce the amount of maintenance service calls due to recurring problems. This document will show examples of trending problems and their resolutions.

While environmental regulation is by no means a new concept, growing concern about environmental issues has led to an unprecedented amount of legislation in recent years. Violations of environmental laws can result in severe civil actions and in some cases may even lead to criminal sanctions. Today more than ever, health care facilities should develop and maintain an environmental management system that ensures compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and minimizes exposure to environmental liabilities. The environmental audit plan described in this document is designed as part of a facility's ongoing efforts to manage issues and address legislation related to the physical environment of the health care facility.

Because the quality of service and support of telecommunications systems in hospitals ultimately impacts patient care, selecting the vendor can be a significant process. Outlined in this document are the steps that should be taken before installing a new telecommunications system. Recommendations are given on how to prepare a request for proposal, how to narrow the list of bidders, and how to determine what's important to the hospital in selecting a vendor.

Tuberculosis is again on the rise in the United States. Several outbreaks of TB in hospitals have heightened interest in the development and use of mechanisms that prevent the spread of this airborne pathogen. Controlling the spread of TB to hospital patients, workers, and others can be accomplished through various administrative engineering and design controls, and infection control programs, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The hazard of TB is real, but workers, patients, and visitors can be protected by implementing programs that guard against the diseases spread in the hospital environment.

With many hospital facilities under almost constant renovation or construction, the importance of planning precautions to protect surrounding areas from infection has never been greater. This document explains how one hospital campus plans for such precautions, and presents a case study on the issue.

No single set of guidelines exists or even applies for determining physical plant staffing for each and every health care facility. However, one possible method is outlined in this document, with procedures to apply to most situations. The method should also help provide justification for staffing needs, and includes the results of a nationwide survey on the issue.

Infrastructure analysis should be a basic component of the facility master plan and specific information concerning the site and facility must be collected, evaluated, and analyzed at each phase of development of the master plan. The interpretation of such information can significantly impact the visibility of design solutions, department locations, construction phasing, and costs. This paper identifies the information to be collected, its potential impact on the master plan, and the facility manager's role during the planning process.