Advocacy & Public Policy

Advocacy & Public Policy / en Wed, 07 May 2025 14:30:04 -0500 Tue, 10 Sep 24 16:51:15 -0500 Connections: September 2024 | Q3 Newsletter /connections-september-2024-q3-newsletter Tue, 10 Sep 2024 16:51:15 -0500 Advocacy & Public Policy FGI seeking comments on Facility Code for Hospitals draft /fgi-seeking-comments-facility-code-hospitals-draft <h2>Share your facilities management insight by Sept. 30</h2>The Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) has issued a call for public comments on the draft of the 2026 FGI Facility Code for Hospitals, FGI Facility Code for Outpatient Settings, and FGI Facility Code for Residential Care and Support Settings. Comments will be accepted through Sept. 30. Submitted comments will be visible to the public and members of the Health Guidelines Revision Committee (HGRC).FGI documents have been adopted by the vast majority of states to serve as the minimum design criteria for health and residential care facilities. ��Թ�encourages its members to contribute feedback to ensure a range of perspectives are considered, including the voices of those who maintain and operate these facilities.Major 2026 Hospital Changes Included in the DraftNew to the 2026 editions, the documents published by the Facility Guidelines Institute will no longer be called the FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction, and instead will be called the FGI Facility Code. &nbsp;This change reflects the revised document structure. The FGI Facility Code will consist of only mandatory code language; any appendix material that previously was included in the Guidelines to provide clarity and best practice will now be included in a new handbook currently under development for each FGI Facility Code. FGI intends to make a version of the FGI Facility Code available for no charge to the public. An enhanced license with new tools and features will be available for purchase, as will the handbooks.��Թ�Regulatory Affairs staff have identified key changes in the draft likely to affect ��Թ�members. These changes include:<ul><li>1.2-2.1.3.3 Determining Clinical Room Need</li><li>1.2-4.9.2 Disaster, Emergency, and Vulnerability Design Features</li><li>1.3-3.5 Emergency Access</li><li>2.1-6.3.4 Discharged Patient Waiting Facilities</li><li>2.1-6.3.6&nbsp;Incident Command Center</li><li>2.1-7.2.3&nbsp;Surfaces</li><li>2.1-8.3.4&nbsp;Lighting</li><li>2.1-8.3.5&nbsp;Electrically Powered Equipment</li><li>2.1-8.4 Plumbing Systems</li><li>2.2-2.17 Behavioral and Mental Health Medical Complexity Patient Care Unit</li><li>2.6-2.2.2.6 Rehab Hospitals Patient Toilet Room Space Requirements and Clearances</li><li>2.6-2.3.1 Rehab Hospitals Dining, Recreation, and Social Spaces</li><li>2.6-3.1.1.3&nbsp;Rehab Hospital Ambulance Entrance</li><li>2.7&nbsp;Specific Requirements for Mobile Units</li></ul>To submit comments, log in at <a href="https://www.fgiguidelines.net/login" target="_blank" title="FGI login">www.fgiguidelines.net</a> and select “Submit Comment.” Please provide reasons for your feedback. Note that only comments on the draft are being accepted. Any new proposals will need to be submitted during the next revision cycle. Fri, 06 Sep 2024 14:13:37 -0500 Advocacy & Public Policy ASHRAE/��Թ�Guideline 43 /ashrae-ashe-guideline-43 Wed, 28 Feb 2024 15:04:06 -0600 Advocacy & Public Policy ASHRAE and ��Թ�seeking comments on new HVAC operations guideline /ashrae-and-ashe-seeking-comments-new-hvac-operations-guideline ASHRAE and the American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) have issued a 45-day public review period from Oct. 6 to Nov. 20, 2023, on the new Guideline 43, Operations Guideline for Ventilation of Health Care Facilities. The guideline, developed by ASHRAE in collaboration with ASHE, gives recommendations for the operation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that provide environmental control in health care facilities for the safety and comfort of facility occupants. Guideline 43 addresses health care HVAC systems as a comprehensive whole while also establishing a consistent standard for the maintenance and operation of these systems. The scope of the new guideline is intended to apply to patient care areas, resident care areas and related support areas within health care facilities, and provides recommendations on acceptable temperature and humidity ranges, ventilation rates, operational parameters and preventive maintenance. By introducing Guideline 43, ASHRAE and ��Թ�seek to render obsolete the long-standing practice of using HVAC design standards as operational practice standards and resolve discrepancies between what is allowable by design standards and what constitutes nominal HVAC performance. It encourages the optimization of HVAC systems and the resources they use through the application of a maintenance program in conjunction with the appropriate application of alternative equipment maintenance and reliability-centered maintenance practices. Because this guideline will establish recommendations on operational parameters, tasks and rates, ��Թ�members are strongly encouraged to review and provide vital input to ensure that these recommendations are valid.&nbsp; To review and make comments on the new guideline, access the <a href="https://osr.ashrae.org/default.aspx" target="_blank">ASHRAE Public Review webpage</a>. The comment period will be open from Oct. 6 to Nov. 20, 2023. Wed, 04 Oct 2023 09:08:04 -0500 Advocacy & Public Policy FGI Seeking Comments on Proposed Changes to the Guidelines for Design and Construction /fgi-seeking-comments-proposed-changes-guidelines-design-and-construction <h1>FGI Seeking Opinions on Proposals to Update the Guidelines for Design and Construction</h1> The Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) has issued a call for public opinions on proposals that have been submitted to update the 2022 edition of the FGI Guidelines documents. These opinions will be visible to members of the Health Guidelines Revision Committee (HGRC) when they vote on the proposals beginning in October. Because the FGI Guidelines has been adopted in 43 of the 50 states in some form, it is essential that members of the health care facility management field weigh in on the changes being considered before the Sept. 30 deadline.&nbsp; FGI publishes three documents relevant to health care facilities:&nbsp; <ul> <li>Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals</li> <li>Guidelines for Design and Construction of Outpatient Facilities</li> <li>Guidelines for Design and Construction of Residential Health, Care, and Support Facilities&nbsp;</li> </ul> If adopted at the state or local jurisdictional level, the Guidelines must be followed during new construction and major renovation projects. &nbsp; FGI revises the Guidelines documents every four years. The most recent edition was published in 2022. The 2026 edition revision cycle began with a public proposal period that was open from February to June 2023 and resulted in a total of 1,538 proposed updates to the documents. There were 632 proposals for the Hospital Guidelines, 429 proposals for the Outpatient Guidelines, and 477 proposals for the Residential Guidelines. A full list of the proposals is available for review by the public at <a href="https://www.fgiguidelines.net/" target="_blank">www.fgiguidelines.net</a>. After creating a login and password, website visitors can filter the proposals by document, chapter, section or search term to find the proposed changes most relevant to their work and expertise and submit their opinions on the proposals. A first draft of the 2026 Guidelines documents will be published in late spring 2024. From July to August 2024, the public will have an opportunity to make comments on the updates proposed for the 2026 edition. Once the comment period closes, the public will have more time to submit opinions before the HGRC votes on the public comments. The 2026 edition of the FGI Guidelines is scheduled to be published in April 2026. Major 2026 Hospital Proposals Due to the vast number of total proposals, ��Թ�Advocacy staff reviewed those for the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals and have highlighted below the proposals (listed by topic and ID number) most likely to impact ��Թ�members:&nbsp; <ul> <li>Phasing during renovations: ID-85, ID-149, ID-201</li> <li>Disaster planning: ID-699, ID-700</li> <li>Service spaces in restricted and semi-restricted areas: ID-1267</li> <li>Nitrous oxide systems: ID-1053</li> <li>Airborne infection isolation room anterooms: ID-1114</li> <li>Specialty infection control exam rooms: ID-1596</li> <li>Multiple-diagnosis patient care units: ID-1699</li> <li>Redefining procedure, operating, and imaging room definitions:&nbsp; <ul> <li>Procedure rooms: ID-1233, ID-1265</li> <li>Operating rooms: ID-754, ID-1266, ID-752, ID-1157</li> <li>Imaging rooms: ID-1156, ID-1160, ID-1723, ID-1724</li> <li>Exam/treatment, procedure, and operating room classification: ID-1150, ID-90, ID-1154, ID-1441, ID-1682&nbsp;</li> </ul> </li> <li>Rural emergency hospitals: ID-1177, ID-1444, ID-1525</li> </ul> Please review these proposals and submit your opinions to FGI to ensure your views are heard. Tue, 05 Sep 2023 10:01:48 -0500 Advocacy & Public Policy Advocacy Alerts and Issue Briefs for the Health Care Built Environment and Facilities Professionals /resources/alerts Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 -0600 Advocacy & Public Policy Advocacy for the health care physical environment profession /ashe-advocacy Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 -0600 Advocacy & Public Policy