By Brad Keyes / Special to Healthcare Facilities Today

Q: For clinics that are in a facility classified as business occupancy, is an ICRA required?

A: For Joint Commission accredited organizations, their hospital standards apply to all offsite locations that are considered hospital departments even if it is not classified as healthcare occupancy.  For example, if a hospital has an offsite therapy unit in a local mall, the Environment of Care and Life Safety chapter requirements must apply to the offsite location, in accordance with the respective occupancy designation. This means, where the hospital is a healthcare occupancy, an offsite therapy unit would likely be a business occupancy, but the requirements found in the EC and LS chapters still apply at the therapy unit, but in accordance with business occupancy classification.

So, the requirement for an Infection Control Risk assessment (ICRA) is found in EC.02.06.05, EP 2 in the Hospital Accreditation Manual. The expectation is the hospital would conduct an ICRA at an offsite location when planning for construction as long as it is a hospital department. This concept of the Joint Commission standards applying at offsite locations is explained in the Overview to the EC and LS chapters.

Brad Keyes, CHSP, is the owner of KEYES Life Safety Compliance, and his expertise is in the management of the Life Safety Program, including the Environment of Care and Emergency Management programs.