In a recent Q&A on the FacilityCare website, consultant Brad Keyes answered a question about blood draws in behavioral health corridors.

Q: I have a behavioral health unit where the lab technicians have placed a chair in the corridor to draw blood samples from the patients. This chair is left in the corridor at all times, and the corridor is eight feet wide. Is this a violation, and do I need to maintain 8 feet of clear width in this corridor?

A: Yes, I believe it is a problem, but not for the reasons you imply. Section 18.2.3.4 of the 2000 Life Safety Code says corridors in psychiatric hospitals are required to have an unobstructed clear width of six feet, not the traditional eight feet of clear width required in acute care hospitals. So, a chair placed in an eight-foot-wide corridor in a psychiatric unit would likely not obstruct the required clear width of six feet.

Read the full question and answer.