Author Archive for Scott Wallask

NFPA reference that allows wall storage within 18 inches of sprinklers

Hi everyone, it’s Scott Wallask, and I was just on the ASHE e-mail group talking about 18-inch clearance requirements for sprinklers in storage areas. The question of storage along walls seems to come up a lot.

As many of you know, there is an exception for perimeter walls that allows you to forgo the 18-inch clearance [more]

New Webinar series offers core infection control training

If the abbreviations MRSA, MDRO, and C. diff. are in your vocabulary, you may want to check out HCPro’s upcoming Webcast series on infection control training that starts next week.

Infection Prevention Core Training, Part 1: Meeting the Challenge of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDROs) takes place on Wednesday, July 15, at 1 p.m. Eastern time. You can also purchase a bundle package that includes all three of our infection control Webcasts at a savings.

Please pass this on to your infection control folks, too, if you think they’d be interested.

No BMP coming in 2010, says George Mills

Hi everyone, it’s Scott Wallask. I got a chance to ask George Mills, senior engineer at The Joint Commission, about the future of the building maintenance program (BMP). Mills spoke at a Joint Commission Resources audio conference on Wednesday.

Mills said there is no plan [more]

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 [more]

Michael Jackson’s death forces hospital into a lockdown

Hi folks, it’s Scott Wallask. I was chatting by e-mail with Vernon Goodwin, security director at UCLA Health System in Los Angeles, about the hundreds of people that gathered outside UCLA Medical Center after Michael Jackson’s body arrived at the hospital last Thursday.

Goodwin told me the medical center [more]

How design might intermingle with infection control

Hi, it’s Scott Wallask logging in today. I’m not sure how many of you are in the midst of new construction or renovations, but I read an interesting post on a blog from architecture firm Astorino about how design features in hospitals can bolster infection control.

For example, the writer notes the usefulness of creating the shortest direct route possible from a hospital helipad to the ED.

CDC report notes some healthcare workers don’t embrace infection control with H1N1 cases

Hi folks, it’s Scott Wallask. Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention published an early examination of healthcare worker infections from the H1N1 swine flu virus in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Even though the report is just a snapshot of two dozen or so infected healthcare workers, it’s clear [more]

H1N1 pandemic will test your supply chains

Hi, it’s Scott Wallask. I read this passage in today’s Boston Globe about medical supplies to battle H1N1 swine flu:

Some hospitals said shelves usually brimming with surgical masks, used to slow the virus’ transmission, turned barren [more]

With a pandemic underway, watch the southern hemisphere for H1N1 clues

Hi folks, it’s Scott Wallask. My goodness, after all these years I never imagined that the official announcement of a flu pandemic from the World Health Organization (WHO) would be met with such little fanfare. I always figured such a proclamation would result in sirens ringing throughout towns and people hunkering down in their homes.

Nope. To be fair, in practical terms [more]

Joint Commission scoring update effective July 1

Hi everyone, it’s Scott Wallask checking in. There are a series of EC and life safety scoring changes going into effect on July 1 that were just published by The Joint Commission.

I wrote a story about this for HCPro’s HealthLeaders Media site, which you can read for free.