Fire Safety Advocacy &
Information
Update:
September 2009
Board information.
Bureau of Fire Services Information
Bureau of Fire Services Business
+ As you know you can choose
not to comply with CMS, but you will risk your reimbursement
+ The Bureau has submitted numerous wavery letters on behalf of facilities but
they are unwilling to accept them.
+ I would not see JCAHO or HFAP enforcing anything less than CMS regarding this
issue.
+ 30% or 1,500 N.Gas generators are in use in CMS Region V. ( Chicago)
Natural Gas Generator Backup
Fuel Source Letter Requirements
We want to pass on to you some clarification related to the backup fuel source
for natural gas generators. These clarifications resulted from discussions
between Midwest Consortium staff and Jim Merrill and Cindy Graunke of CMS
Central Office.
All Nursing homes are required to have an on-site back up power source. If a
facility uses a natural gas generator to provide back up power to LSC required
systems (i.e., emergency lights, exit lights, fire alarms etc.) the facility
may obtain a letter from it's natural gas vendor to demonstrate the fuel source
is reliable and to meet the requirements for on-site backup power source. A
facility with a natural gas generator may use other means to meet the
requirements for an on-site backup power source that do not require a letter from
its natural gas vendor.
The letter of reliability from the vendor regarding the fuel supply must
contain the following:
General/FYI
November 2008
The fire Safety Board meetings for
May and June were canceled. However, the
Rules ADHOC committees continued to meet and to move things forward. The Healthcare Facilities Fire Safety Rules
were updated. As part of the process a
public hearing must be held for public comment.
This was held at the DLEG office on October 28, 2008 from 1:00 to 2:00
p.m.
PUBLIC HEARING COMMENTS:
1. Alleged no participation from the
HFA (Home for Aged) Association - There was in fact was representation
2. Take exception to the change in the
definition of an “im-mobile resident” and it’s inclusion of “patients with
mental limitations, i.e., Alzheimer patients” being added to the definition of
non-mobile.
3. Take exception to the FSES (Fire Safety
Equivalency System) is not an option for HFA’s.
*
Note: These issues will be reviewed by the ADHOC committee and BFS for
resolution and or potential language change or no change. The outcome may require another public hearing.
Art Shaw - Noted a reference
material error
REMAINING
PROCESS FOR HEALTH CARE FACILITIES FIRE SAFETY RULES
4D Written
commentary (letters/email/FAX) received from the public during the specified
public comment period and hearing testimony will be reviewed. Requests for modifications will be reviewed
to see if the changes should be incorporated into a final version of the draft
rules.
4E (MCL
24.245) If the department makes no
changes to the draft rules after the public commentary period, the rules can be
sent forward to SOAHR and LSB for formal certification. If textural changes are made in response to
comments received in writing or at the public hearing, they are only allowed
if:
·
They
are non-substantive changes ( i.e. minor technical changes),
·
They
are non-controversial changes made in response to public commentary received at
hearing or submitted within the specified comment time, or
·
The
SOAHR requests change so rule does not conflict with current law, rule, or case
law.
STEP 5 - Formal Certification
5A Once
all textual changes have been made, the bureau/agency will prepare matching
bold and no bold versions of the new draft rules and submit them to the SOAHR
for legal review.
5B The
"JCAR Agency Report." The agency/bureau representative (s), in conjunction
with the RAO, prepare the "JCAR Agency Report" to summarize the
comments contained in the public hearing record and a description of any
changes made to the rules as a result of public commentary. This report must be forwarded to the SOAHR
before the SOAHR will formally certify the rules. The report verifies publication of three
newspaper ads, and that the hearing was announced in the Michigan
Register. The SOAHR will compare the new
draft rules against the JCAR Agency Report to account for all changes, and to
ensure legality. [MCL 24.236, 24.245]
5C An
electronic copy of the non-bold rules, including textural changes described in
Step 4-E, will be submitted to LSB by the SOAHR for formal certification. [MCL
24.245 (10)]\
5D LSB
will forward their legal certificate to the SOAHR. If the SOAHR believes the rules can be
legally certified, SOAHR will post the certified rules on the web.
STEP 6 - JCAR Submission and
Adoption
A The
SOAHR will submit the JCAR package for submission to JCAR (Joint Committee on
Administrative Rules). This package will
include:
A
transmittal letter to JCAR
·
One
(1) copy of the JCAR Agency Report.
·
One
(1) copy of the LSB and SOAHR certificates
·
One
(1) copy of the SOAHR Regulatory Impact Statement.
The rules package must be delivered
to JCAR within one (1) year after
the last public hearing. If not, the
rules will be sent back to Step 3 for a subsequent public hearing. [MCL 24.236, 24.245]
B [MCL
24.245] Once the SOAHR submits the rules package to JCAR, the RAO will work
with the agency/bureau to coordinate the signing and submission of the "Certificate of Adoption" (C
of A). The Department Director signs the
C of A for all agencies that are not "Type I agencies."
C [MCL
24.245a] After JCAR received the rules package, they7 have 15 sessions days to
review the proposed rules. JCAR may file
a "notice of objection" to a proposed rule within that period with
the approval of a concurrent majority of its members IF they find any of the following:
·
The
agency lacks statutory authority for the rule.
·
The
agency is exceeding the scope of its rule-making authority.
·
There
exists an emergency relating to the public health, safety, and welfare that
would warrant disapproval of the rule.
·
The
rule is in conflict with state law.
·
A
substantial change in circumstances has occurred since enactment of the law
upon which the proposed rule is based.
·
The
rule is arbitrary or capricious.
·
The
rule is "unduly burdensome" to the public or licensees.
D If
JCAR elects to hold a hearing on a proposed rule, they will notify the
SOAHR. The SOAHR will notify the RAO,
who should, in turn, ensure that appropriate staff (bureau, agency, etc.) is
present at the JCAR hearing to explain and/or defend the rule (s).
STEP 7 - JCAR Notice of Objection
A If
no "notice of objection" is adopted within the 15-session day period
or if JCAR fails to meet within the 15 session days, the SOAHR can file the
rules with the Michigan Department of State, office of the Great Seal. JCAR may also vote to "waive the
15-session day period, which allows the SOAHR to file the rules
immediately. (In either case, skip to
Step 8.)
If JCAR adopts a "Notice of Objection" within the
15-session day period described in Step 6, bills will be introduced in both
chambers (House and Senate) and placed immediately on the calendars. The bills will propose one of three things:
·
Rescind
the rule upon its effective date [Sec. 45a (3) (a)].
·
Repeal
the statutory provision under which the rule was authorized [Sec. 45a (3)(b)].
·
Stay
the rule's effective date for up to one year [Sec 45a (3) c].
B The
notice of objection stays the ability of the SOAHR to file the rule with the
Secretary of State until the earlier of the following:
·
Fifteen
session days after the "notice of objection" is filed.
·
The
date of the rescission of the issuance of the notice of objection, approved by
a concurrent majority of JCAR members.
If the legislation is passed by both
chambers of the legislature and presented to the Governor within the
15-session-day period, the rules do not become effective unless the legislation
is vetoed by the Governor, as provided by law.
If the Governor vetoes the legislation (and the veto is not overridden),
the SOAHR may file the rules immediately.
[MCL 24.245a (4)-(6)]
C Rules
shall take effect immediately after filing, unless a later date is indicated by
the rules. The filing process is
described in Step 8. [MCL 24.245a
(2)-(5)]
STEP 8-Rules Filed with the Office
of the Great Seal
A If
a "notice of objection" is not adopted, or if the legislation
described in Step 7 is not enacted within the proper time frames, the SOAHR may
file the rules with the Michigan Department of State, Office of the Great Seal.
Again,
rules will become "effective" immediately upon filing, unless a later date is indicated in the
rules.
[MCL 24.245a (2)]
If anyone has questions please feel
free to contact me;
Tim Tinney
Covenant HealthCare
989/5836066
November 2007 – To all:
“Greetings fellow (fire safety board) members,
I have several items to report.
First, the vote requiring existing nursing homes to be fully sprinklered
within 10 years (19.3.5.1) passed unanimously.
The second issue deals with alcohol based hand rub (ABHR)
dispensers and the conflict with the proposed
Based on this new information, the BFS policy has been
revised. The new policy (attached) is consistent with the
interpretation of NFPA and CMS. As BFS
is no longer more restrictive than the 2006 LSC, the draft amendment has been changed
and the ABHR language has been deleted.
I believe that this will address all of the concerns that we discussed
at our last meeting. Note that JCAHO
still has a more stringent application in hospitals. That is a JCAHO enforcement issue that does not
reflect on our rules.
The draft minutes from the 10/17/07 meeting are attached. As the11/13/07 meeting has been cancelled,
please review the draft and advise if any changes need to be made to them.
Work continues on the Regulatory Impact Statement.
As always, if you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact
me.
Mike
Bureau of Fire Services-Fire Marshal Division
Michael Pachulski, State Fire Marshal Supervisor”
September 2007 - A document that reflects NFPA rules from 1997 through 2006 and compares these to Michigan Amendments for 2008 is in DRAFT form and available for MiSHE Member review. In order to assist
in the review process, wording is highlighted as follows: all changes and new items are in Red; yellow highlighted areas reflect potential issues for existing facilities; and blue highlighted areas are commentary. To review the document click on Michigan Amendments for 2008 and return any comments to Tim Tinney. It is important that all comments, questions, issues or proposed language changes from MiSHE members be taken back to the ad hoc committee. The next meeting is scheduled for October 17, 2007.
Meeting Schedule: October 17, November 13, and December 11, 2007
August 2007 – MISC information: Nursing Home, 100% sprinkler requirement will not go away. A decision on an acceptable time frame i.e. 5/7/10 years to comply will be made.
429 - Nursing Homes in the State of Michigan
222 - Fully Sprinkled
206 - Partially Sprinkled (Hazardous areas by code)
1 - Un-sprinkled
Background
As an organization, MiSHE is involved with being an advocate for those issues that involve our members. One of these areas is Fire Safety. One of our members, Tim Tinney, is on the Michigan Fire Safety Board. The following information and updates are provided to involve of all of our members in this important area.
Letter from the Healthcare
Representative to the
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To All Members and those Attending the
Member Seminar on April 13, 2007, I am fearful that my request for MISHE
members interested in participating created an expectation that several
members of our society would be appointed.
In the end that clearly is not he case. I apologize for creating any such
expectation, but was encouraged to do so by the Chair of the Fire Safety
Board. It may be best to chalk this up
to State politics. On this page is a
list of members on the Healthcare Ad Hoc Committee. I believe it to be a good
cross section. I am also pleased that
Mike Pachulski from the Bureau of Fire Services is the Chair of the
committed. Mike was a State Trooper
and I have worked with Mike on another project and find him to be practical
and strait forward. It is also in our
interest to have |
Information and Update Links
Current Issues and Action Required by
MiSHE Members
Issue 1 – Facility owners, managers and operators understand and support the need for they’re to be codes and standards. We know that NFPA does not address all aspects of healthcare building design, construction and related systems, but NFPA is focused on life preservation. Other codes regulate and govern the balance of the structure. Often times these codes overlap and create conflict and ambiguities that make it difficult or impossible to meet regulatory compliance. In some cases this overlap causes undue financial burden on the healthcare industry and delays service to our customers. These conflicts and ambiguities lead to designing and specification of excessive or blanket incorporation or inclusion of devices and or equipment that requires ongoing service, and mandated third party testing and certification. Examples, being smoke damper and detection; and fire dampers. NFPA 2000 does not require dampers within a 100% sprinklered facility, however the local Authority having jurisdiction may have a mechanical code that requires them to enforce damper compliance.