Of all industries that need to maintain compliance with National Firefighters Protection Association (NFPA) disaster preparedness guidelines, the healthcare industry may be the most important. Emergency preparedness for healthcare facilities is not an option, it is an absolute necessity.
There are thousands of power outages every year. Hospitals, doctors offices, pharmaceutical laboratories and other healthcare facilities must be able to keep the lights on and the power flowing when they occur. The lives of people in surgery, those hooked up to life-sustaining machines and refrigerated specimen depend on it. So how can you make sure that your healthcare facility is prepared?
1. Make Sure Your EPSS Is Level One
It’s important that you think of the energy that supplies your healthcare facility as a complete electrical system rather than just a generator here and there. EPSS refers to your Emergency Power Supply System. The NFPA considers two levels of EPSS. Level One is the most critical.
Level One equipment is required when power failure could result in the loss of human life. This is frequently the case in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities. It is critical to remember that for a healthcare institution, your backup EPSS power needs to activate within 10 seconds of power loss for you to be in compliance.
2. Make Sure Your EPSS Is Properly Maintained
Regular maintenance is also critical to making sure your healthcare facility is NFPA compliant. You want to make sure your generator has a clean, contaminant-free tank, that all parts are in working order, and that your available generator fuel is also fresh and clean. Even the most expertly designed EPSS will not help your patients if the generators will not start when they are supposed to.
3. Make Sure You Have Ready Access to Emergency Fuel
As a facility with a Level One EPSS system that is part of the healthcare industry, you need 96 hours of fuel on hand to run backup generators should your primary power source fail. Although regular power should be restored within this period, you should also be aware of a way that you can quickly replenish your generator fuel should you start to run low.
Call Foster Fuel Mission Critical division to ask about our emergency fuel delivery. Our award-winning risk management and emergency services business can get lifesaving fuel to your facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. When you partner with Foster Fuels Mission Critical Services for your emergency fuel, you are guaranteed timely delivery when an emergency occurs. That’s why the Department of Defense named us a prime supplier and turned to us during many of the nation’s most catastrophic storms.
Contact Foster Fuel
Foster Fuel Mission Critical has provided emergency fuel to disaster areas and other emergency situations for nearly 20 years. To learn how our emergency fuel services can help protect your healthcare facility and keep you in NFPA compliance, call us at 1-800-344-6457 or contact us online today.
