NFPA-99H-2002 Health Care Facilities Handbook

NFPA-99H-2002 Health Care Facilities Handbook. 1.1.15 Reserved 1.1.16 Reserved 1.1.17 Chapter 17, Nursing Home Requirements, addresses safety requirements of nursing homes. 1.1.18 Chapter 18, Limited Care Facility Requirements, covers safety requirements of lim- ited care facilities. 1.1.19 Chapter 19, Electrical and Gas Equipment for Home Care, addresses the require- ments for the safe use of electrical and gas equipment used for home care medical treatment. 1.1.20* Chapter 20, Hyperbaric Facilities, covers the recognition of and protection against hazards of an electrical, explosive, or implosive nature, as well as fire hazards associated with hyperbaric chambers and associated facilities that are used, or intended to be used, for medical applications and experimental procedures at gage pressures from 0 to 690 kPa (0 to 100 psi). Chapter 20 applies to both single- and multiple-occupancy hyperbaric chambers, to animal chambers the size of which precludes human occupancy, and to those in which the chamber atmosphere contains an oxygen partial pressure greater than an absolute pressure of 21.3 kPa (3.09 psi) (0.21 atmospheres). A.1.1.20 During the past 20 years there has been a widespread interest in the use of oxygen at elevated environmental pressure to increase the partial pressure of oxygen in a patient’s tis- sues in order to treat certain medical conditions or to prepare a patient for surgery. These tech- niques are also employed widely for the treatment of decompression sickness (e.g., bends, caisson worker’s disease) and carbon monoxide poisoning. Recently, however, the level of knowledge and expertise has increased so dramatically that the codes are in need of updating. By the end of 1988, there were 218 hyperbaric facilities in operation in the U.S. and Canada. These facilities supported hyperbaric medical treatments for 62,548 patients between 1971 and 1987. 3.2 NFPA Official Definitions 3.2.1* Approved. Acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction. A.3.2.1 Approved. The National Fire Protection Association does not approve, inspect, or certify any installations, procedures, equipment, or materials; nor does it approve or evaluate testing laboratories. In determining the acceptability of installations, procedures, equipment, or materials, the authority having jurisdiction may base acceptance on compliance with NFPA or other appropriate standards. In the absence of such standards, said authority may require evidence of proper installation, procedure, or use. The authority having jurisdiction may also refer to the listings or labeling practices of an organization that is concerned with product evaluations and is thus in a position to determine compliance with...