14 Receptacles at Patient Bed!

[elecshop]

NEC 517.19(B) requires 14 receptacles at patient bed locations for critical care areas.
I am working on a labor and delivery room that has a bed and a headwall unit. The bed requires a receptacle and there is an infant warmer and a monitor which also require receptacles. Does the 14-receptacle requirement include the bed, monitor, and warmer, or there should be separate 14 general purpose receptacles aside from the three equipment?
Also, am I wrong to consider a labor room a critical care area? "General care" does not seem to fit for its classification because loss of power in this room might cause injury, not only "discomfort".. at least this is my understanding of this definition, unless anyone else has encountered this before?

 

[JoeStillman]

I think there is a reason why the Code doesn't say what those 14 outlets are for. Equipment comes and goes, but 14 receptacles are forever. You could play it safe and put in 4 quads.

The Informational Note in article 517.2 under Patient Care Space calls a delivery room a Critical Care (Category 1) Space. I've also seen LDR's classified as "Wet Procedure Locations". Final say-so is with the governing body of the facility.

 

[elecshop]

I think there is a reason why the Code doesn't say what those 14 outlets are for. Equipment comes and goes, but 14 receptacles are forever. You could play it safe and put in 4 quads.

The Informational Note in article 517.2 under Patient Care Space calls a delivery room a Critical Care (Category 1) Space. I've also seen LDR's classified as "Wet Procedure Locations". Final say-so is with the governing body of the facility.

Thank you.

And for their circuiting, I was wondering how to translate this statement:
"Each patient bed location shall be supplied by at least two branch circuits, one or more from the critical branch and one or more circuits from
the normal system. At least one branch circuit from the critical branch shall supply an outlet(s) only at that bed location." (517.19(A))

Does it mean that there should be:
- 1 critical circuit for half of the headboard receptacles
- 1 normal circuit for remaining headboard receptacles, AND can be combined with remaining receptacles in the room (to meet the least requirement)

So the 1st circuit should not include any receptacles other than on the headboard?

Looks like to me, if I have 3 other equipment which would need their own circuits (bed, warmer, monitor - or probably the monitor can be on the normal circuit), I will need in total:
- 3 normal circuits (each for each equipment)
- 1 critical circuit (headboard receptacles)
- 1 normal/other circuit (for remaining receptacles in headboard and in room)


Please correct me if I am wrong

 

[JoeStillman]

Thank you.

And for their circuiting, I was wondering how to translate this statement:
"Each patient bed location shall be supplied by at least two branch circuits, one or more from the critical branch and one or more circuits from
the normal system. At least one branch circuit from the critical branch shall supply an outlet(s) only at that bed location." (517.19(A))

Does it mean that there should be:
- 1 critical circuit for half of the headboard receptacles
- 1 normal circuit for remaining headboard receptacles, AND can be combined with remaining receptacles in the room (to meet the least requirement)

So the 1st circuit should not include any receptacles other than on the headboard?

Looks like to me, if I have 3 other equipment which would need their own circuits (bed, warmer, monitor - or probably the monitor can be on the normal circuit), I will need in total:
- 3 normal circuits (each for each equipment)
- 1 critical circuit (headboard receptacles)
- 1 normal/other circuit (for remaining receptacles in headboard and in room)


Please correct me if I am wrong

Sounds about right. You're going to need a lot of circuit breakers.