CMS has issued guidance on waivers for inspection, testing and maintenance for health care  facilities with a Waiver ITM Recommendations Table and a  Waiver Template for Testing and Maintenance  to be submitted together.

Regarding medical gas systems, we are recommending the healthcare organization issue a “state of emergency” organizational policy. This policy would defer all testing except master alarms, operating rooms, and a code review for the systems including any temporary installations or setups. Maintenance of medical gas outlets would be continued on an as-needed basis.

• Medical Gas system: Testing and maintenance in section EC.02.05.09, EP 7

  • Dependent on HCO policy: If test was due during SOE, add 60-day grace period after lifting SOE

• Air Ventilation Testing: Testing and maintenance in section EC.02.05.01, EP 15

  • No deferment

• Anesthesia Machine: Testing and maintenance in section EC0.02.04.03. EP 2

  • No deferment

Downloads for Waiver Application Template and Waiver ITM Recommendations

• Download 1135 Waiver Template for Testing and Maintenance during COVID 19 Emergency

• Download Waiver ITM Recommendations Table

Other CMS Blanket Waivers COVID 19

• CMS COVID 19 Blanket Waivers

• CMS COVID 19 Waiver Templates for Testing and Maintenance

Credit: Thank you to ASHE for providing information on their web site that helped to make this article.

Medical Air Compressors Consumption Calculation p1.1

The demand on healthcare facility medical air compressors has been increased by the number of ventilators put in service. Here we look at an easy way to measure the current demand on the compressors by measuring consumption.

Calculating Air Consumption in SCFM:

This is done during the off cycle of the compressor and you record the pressure of when the system went off say (105 psig) on at (85 psig) and the (time sec) it took to go from 105 to 85. This will provide the consumption at the time of the recorded data. Consumption can vary in the system based on the demands throughout the day for OR’s and patient capacity and the use of ventilators.

Consumption (SCFM) = (.55 x G x  ΔP) /  t (sec)

SCFM = Standard Cubic Ft / Second

G = Gallon Size of Receiver (typically 120,200,240)

ΔP = PSIG Off to PSIG On (typically 20 psig most systems)

t (sec) = time it takes for the pressure to drop from it’s fully pumped up pressure (compressor cut out) to the when the compressors starts again ( compressor cut in)

Example:

SCFM = (.55 x 200 x 20)  / 60

SCFM = 36.6