Don’t park your wheeled computers in egress corridors
When it comes to computers-on-wheels (COWs) in corridors, the same rule applies as it would for most other items in egress corridors. Any item in a corridor (regardless of it’s purpose) may be left unattended for up to 30 minutes, after which, CMS has determined, the item ceases to be “in use” and becomes “storage.”
There are two exceptions to the rule:
- Code carts, which can remain in corridors any time for immediate use
- Isolation precaution carts, so long as they are associated with a isolation patient or patients
The quickest way to lose the “in use” versus “storage” argument with an authority is to find the COWs (or WOWs — workstations on wheels — apparently some of the larger members of the population have mistaken the use of the COW term by staff as somehow disparaging) plugged into corridor outlets. Having them plugged in becomes a very hard sell in terms of them not being stored in the corridor, as you might imagine.
My experience has been clinical folks will agree to anything to get the COWs, and then promptly forget about the details of keeping the corridors clear.
One idea I would suggest is to tie behaviors in this arena to a performance indicator for life safety, with an agreed-to performance goal. I think you have to hold the clinicians to 100% compliance at the outset, otherwise they’ll know that some misbehavior with COW storage in corridors will be tolerated (almost never a good idea).
Don’t forget to also check out The Joint Commission’s FAQ about COWs in the corridor.
About the Author: Steve MacArthur is a consultant for The Greeley Company, a division of HCPro. He brings 30 years of healthcare management and consulting experience to his work with hospitals, physician offices, and ambulatory care facilities across the country. He is the author of HCPro's Hospital Safety Director's Handbook and is contributing editor for Briefings on Hospital Safety. Contact Steve at 
William Hyman | Jun 25, 2009 | Reply
The CMS link addresses wall mounted systems, not C/WOWS, although carts are briefly mentioned. Is there another link for C/WOWS per se?
Randy Snelling | Jul 16, 2009 | Reply
Hello Steve, I fail to find the connection that a computer that is plugged in is not “in use” but in “storage”. In my hospital travels (which are extensive) I find computers in use all the time that are also plugged into a wall outlet in a corridor. Many of these computers are aging and the batteries do not hold a charge for long plus the screen dims when computers are in energy-saving mode which they will be if not plugged in. In any case, plugging a computer into an outlet does not mean it is not “in use”…or that it is in “storage”- at least in my humble opinion. Keep up the good work, Randy