NFPA approves weapons detection amendment

NFPA approves weapons detection amendment

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) approved tentative interim amendment (TIA) No. 1869 to NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®, with the amendment effective as of May 5. This milestone marks the next step in getting approval for health care facilities that wish to utilize weapons detection systems at entrances that also serve as the means of egress from the facility. The TIA applies to the 2012 and 2024 editions of the Life Safety Code. The changes also will be included in the code’s 2027 edition once it is published.

CMS clarifies condition-level noncompliance oversight

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued revised memo QSO 18 12-Deemed Providers/Suppliers to clarify the roles of accrediting organizations (AOs) and state survey agencies when a provider’s or supplier’s Medicare-deemed status is temporarily removed due to condition-level noncompliance. CMS may temporarily remove deemed status when a state survey agency or federal survey team identifies condition-level deficiencies. When this occurs, CMS formally notifies the organization and places it under the jurisdiction of the state survey agency, rather than the AO.

ASHRAE introduces new energy-saving requirement

The 2025 edition of the American National Standards Institute/ASHRAE/Illuminating Engineering Society Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Sites and Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, has been published and includes an important new requirement for hospitals and other health care facilities. Addendum bh to the standard’s 2022 edition was approved in 2025 and is now incorporated into the published 2025 standard along with several other addenda that have passed since 2022. Addendum bh requires health care facilities to implement unoccupied setbacks in certain clinical spaces. This means reducing ventilation or adjusting temperature settings when specific spaces are not in use.

CISA releases guidance on zero trust adoption for OT

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and other federal agencies released a joint guide for organizations to apply zero trust principles to operational technology (OT) systems. Zero trust is a cybersecurity strategy that is guided by the principle that no users or devices are safe and must always be verified. The guide includes insights on overcoming unique constraints, addressing potential challenges and prioritizing key areas for integrating zero trust principles. OT environments in health care include tools that manage energy control; heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems; life-safety systems; and more.