Follow-up about computers-on-wheels in corridors

I was talking to Steve MacArthur earlier today about some comments and e-mails we received regarding computers-on-wheels (COWs) in egress corridors, which Steve wrote about last week.

In his post, he noted a CMS memo that mentioned which wheeled items can remain in corridors. Two points we wanted to clarify related to that memo:

• CMS states that crash carts and infection control isolation carts outside active isolation rooms can remain in corridors at all times, as they are considered “in use.” Thus, the inference is any other wheeled item (not just those listed by CMS) can only remain in a corridor for up to 30 minutes before it is considered “in storage” and a violation of the Life Safety Code. COWs fall under this latter category even though the CMS memo doesn’t specifically mention them.
• CMS does not mention COWs that are plugged in. Steve brought that point up based on his experience consulting at hospitals, which leads him to conclude that plugging the computers into outlets in egress corridors is a quick was to get scrutinized by a surveyor about corridor clutter.

Ultimately, the goal is to reduce the risk of corridor clutter to the lowest levels possible (it’s almost impossible to eliminate it), and keeping staff members apprised of CMS and Joint Commission expectations helps in that effort.