CMS Adopts New Fire Safety Standards for Dialysis Facilities

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 11, 2016)—Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule to update Medicare fire protection guidelines for certain dialysis facilities to ensure that patients are protected from fire while receiving treatment in those facilities. CMS strives to promote health and safety for all patients, family and staff in every provider and supplier setting, and fire safety requirements are an important part of this effort.

The new proposed guidelines apply to all dialysis facilities that do not provide one or more exits at grade level from the treatment area level. CMS previously updated the requirements to include dialysis facilities located adjacent to industrial high hazard occupancies; however, as dialysis facilities are not permitted to be located in such areas, the requirement specific to such geographically located facilities will be removed.

This rule adopts, for certain dialysis facilities, updated provisions of the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 2012 edition of the Life Safety Code (LSC), as well as provisions of the NFPA’s 2012 edition of the Health Care Facilities Code in order to bring CMS’s requirements more up to date with today’s fire safety standards. The LSC is a compilation of fire safety requirements for new and existing buildings, and is updated every three years.

The proposed rule addresses construction, protection and operational features of dialysis facilities to provide safety for Medicare beneficiaries from fire and smoke. Some of the main requirements laid out in this proposed rule include:

• Doors to hazardous areas must be self-closing or must close automatically.
• Alcohol based hand rub dispensers now may be placed in corridors to allow for easier access.
• A fire watch or building evacuation is required if the sprinkler system is out of service for more than 10 hours.

Currently, CMS is using the 2000 edition of the LSC to survey dialysis facilities for health and safety compliance. With this proposed rule, CMS is adopting provisions of the 2012 edition of the LSC and provisions of the 2012 edition of the Health Care Facilities Code, to bring CMS’s requirements more up to date, and align dialysis facility fire safety requirements with the codes CMS uses to survey other healthcare facilities.

Visit cms.gov for more information.