New clarifications, changed wording create challenges in 2009 life safety chapter

The Joint Commission isn’t introducing any new safety requirements for 2009. But the accreditor’s Standards Improvement Initiative clarifies some requirements, adds verbiage to others, and, perhaps most importantly, moves certain traditional EC provisions into new life safety and emergency management chapters.

Life safety standards—which derive from the current EC.5.20 and the Statement of Conditions (SOC)—have changed enough that some of the items may seem new to you.