WHY ADVOCACY?
ASHE Advocacy professionals routinely monitor the many codes and standards that regulate healthcare facilities to address conflicts where they may occur and provide a strong clear voice when advocating for rules that assure efficient operation of health care facilities. We rely on ASHE to represent us with the regulatory and legislative bodies that set the rules. They depend on HESNI and members of other affiliate chapters to get involved in the process. HESNI participates in ASHE’s Advocacy Highway by helping direct and maintain the flow of useful information and feedback from the field back to ASHE. Find out how you can be involved as an Advocacy Liaison.
(POSTED 04/07/20)
ACTION ALERT
ASHE Encourages Public Comments on NFPA 10 by May 6
The American Society of Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) urges hospitals to comment on the need to modify the inspection frequency for fire extinguishers.
Basically, the goal is to strongly encourage the NFPA to modify the inspection frequency for fire extinguishers. Attached is a walk–thru summary on how to submit a Public Comment with a discussion near the end of the document to provide guidance on a justification / substantiation for the change. This change could save the healthcare industry millions of dollars each year!
Please review the walk–thru and consider submitting a public comment. The deadline for comments is May 6, 2020. Thank you.
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Click on the link below to view walk-through instructions for submitting comments on NFPA 10.
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(POSTED 03/21/20)
ACTION ALERT
AHA Advocates for More Congressional Funding, Other Help
As hospitals and health systems continue efforts to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the AHA has been working hard to support our members.
We are doing this on a number of fronts, including advocating for additional congressional funding, reducing burdensome regulations and enacting policies that allow providers to respond to COVID-19.
Specifically, in the next federal funding package, we are urging Congress to provide $100 billion to front-line health care personnel and providers – including hospitals, health systems, physicians and nurses – and direct the federal agencies to infuse funds immediately so that providers can afford to take the necessary steps to combat COVID-19. See the
March 19 letter AHA sent with the American Medical Association and American Nurses Association outlining these requests, as well as
AHA's Advocacy Alert.
During this critical juncture, any assistance you can provide to amplify this message with your senators and representative would be appreciated. Thank you for the valuable role you play for your hospital and in your community.
(POSTED 03/01/20 FROM ASHE.ORG WEBSITE)
CODES & STANDARDS
Help shape the 2021 editions of NFPA 99 and 101
ASHE’s advocacy team details how to get involved in the development of two codes that will affect health care for years to come.
January 31, 2020
Jamie Morgan
Because of health care facilities management’s reactive nature, only a small group of individuals have taken a proactive stance on developing codes. As a result, new code requirements are continually placed on hospitals from outside entities, vendors, manufacturers and others.
To proactively change codes and drive them toward what is best for the health care field, hospitals and health care systems must encourage facilities management teams to review the second draft reports of the 2021 editions of NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code and NFPA 101, Life Safety Code ®. Anyone wishing to make an amending motion at the 2020 National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) Technical Meeting must declare his or her intentions by filing a Notice of Intent to Make a Motion (NITMAM) by Feb. 19. These NITMAMs will be the items voted on during the 2020 NFPA Technical Meeting.
One example of how a code requirement should be revised is the monthly requirement to visually inspect exit signs. Documented evidence from numerous hospitals across the nation indicates that monthly inspections of LED exit signs produce less than a 0.0004% failure rate and non-LED exit signs produce less than a 0.004% failure rate. On average, staff spent approximately 49 hours per year conducting exit sign inspections.
Furthermore, the individuals conducting these inspections were paid a median wage of $22 an hour; which translates to approximately $1,326.43 in staffing costs per year. The data shows around $7,380,000 annually is spent inspecting exit signs every year in the 5,564 U.S. hospitals. However, due to the impact on the exit sign industry, it would not be surprising if the elimination of monthly inspections on exit signs without battery-operated emergency illumination sources ends up as a vote at the 2021 NFPA Technical Session.
ASHE encourages all of its members who are NFPA members to please join ASHE at the 2020 NFPA Technical Session in Orlando, Fla., on June 18, 2020 and RSVP to let ASHE know you are attending.
Past Issues & Initiatives 
ASHE Latest Initiatives
For more information about Advocacy issues affecting healthcare facilities, visit ASHE's ADVOCACY web page.
Photo: ASHE Deputy Director of Advocacy Chad Beebe updates members at a HESNI membership meeting.
