Patient rooms with isolated power

[Bigdawg47]

Can you have an outlet in a patient room that is fed off of a circuit from an outside source? If so, is there a minimum height?

 

[roger]

The NEC doesn't really address it however, DHSR is more than likely going to say no even if it's on the ceiling.

Roger

 

[david]

Can you have an outlet in a patient room that is fed off of a circuit from an outside source? If so, is there a minimum height?

517.19 Critical Care Areas.
(A) Patient Bed Location Branch Circuits. Each patient bed location shall be supplied by at least two branch circuits, one or more from the emergency system and one or more circuits from the normal system. At least one branch circuit from the emergency system shall supply an outlet(s) only at that bed location. All branch circuits from the normal system shall be from a single panelboard. Emergency system receptacles shall be identified and shall also indicate the panelboard and circuit number supplying them.
Exception No. 2: Critical care locations served from two separate transfer switches on the emergency system shall not be required to have circuits from the normal system.

Keep in mind circuits served through isolation systems in hospitals are normally not a mandated system rather a design choice some hospital administrators prefer. It has been my experience that in hospitals the choice to supply patient rooms with a isolated transformer system have only intended to supply the receptacles in patient rooms through one isolation transformer system with that design choice, all the required receptacles on the critical branch would be supplied through a single transfer switch.

In others words you would still have to meet the requirements outlined in 517.19. ether a receptacle circuit from the normal source or an additional isolation source receptacle circuit from an separate transfer switch would have to supply a receptacle circuit in critical care patient bed locations.

Also keep in mind :
517.14 Panelboard Bonding.
The equipment grounding terminal buses of the normal and essential branch-circuit panelboards serving the same individual patient care vicinity shall be connected together with an insulated continuous copper conductor not smaller than 10 AWG. Where two or more panelboards serving the same individual patient care vicinity are served from separate transfer switches on the emergency system, the equipment grounding terminal buses of those panelboards shall be connected together with an insulated continuous copper conductor not smaller than 10 AWG. This conductor shall be permitted to be broken in order to terminate on the equipment grounding terminal bus in each panelboard.

 

[roger]

Keep in mind circuits served through isolation systems in hospitals are normally not a mandated system rather a design choice some hospital administrators prefer.

And you are correct as far as the NEC is concerned however, they are mandatory in NC for OR's, PACU's, some Triage Rooms, and other critical procedure areas. These spaces will be supplied by Isolated systems form the Normal Branch as well as the Critical Branch (or multiple Critical Branches) and then the State Healthcare AHJ (Division of Healthcare Facility Services) will have the final say in what's in the space. When we add items in these spaces the Systems will have to be tested and recertified per the requirements of NFPA 99.


Roger

 

[david]

Can you have an outlet in a patient room that is fed off of a circuit from an outside source? If so, is there a minimum height?

And you are correct as far as the NEC is concerned however, they are mandatory in NC for OR's, PACU's, some Triage Rooms, and other critical procedure areas. These spaces will be supplied by Isolated systems form the Normal Branch as well as the Critical Branch (or multiple Critical Branches) and then the State Healthcare AHJ (Division of Healthcare Facility Services) will have the final say in what's in the space. When we add items in these spaces the Systems will have to be tested and recertified per the requirements of NFPA 99.


Roger

OK than, what Roger said

 

[LIM]

Can you have an outlet in a patient room that is fed off of a circuit from an outside source? If so, is there a minimum height?

You can have an outlet in the room fed from an outside source as long as it is above the 7 1/2 feet of the patient care vicinity and is dedicated to a item such as a clock that is up high or a camera. They just don't want the ability to be able to plug something in to the outlet and then it come in contact with a patient.