Patient Bed Locations

[guido]

I work as an electrical engineer. We have run into several situations lately where the electrical inspectors are forcing the electrician to use hospital grade receptacles in exam rooms in dentist offices, OBGYN offices, family practice doctor offices, orthodontist offices, etc. We have not been specifying these devices to be hospital grade because we don't feel they need to be according to the NEC. We are specifying the correct wiring method per 517.13, but we feel the hospital grade devices are only required as stated in 517.18 for patient "beds". We don't feel an exam table in a family doctor's office is a patient bed. Also, our facilities are not required to have an emergency system (generator) so we don't meet the requirements of a patient bed (as Mike Holt stated in the last issue of EC&M).
Need help on this issue. Either we're doing the design wrong or the inspector is asking for something that costs the contractor more money and is not supported by the NEC.

 

[roger]

Need help on this issue. Either we're doing the design wrong or the inspector is asking for something that costs the contractor more money and is not supported by the NEC.

The inspectors are indeed requiring something that costs the contractor more money and is not supported by the NEC.

Your interpretation is correct, however, I'll add that in Critical care areas a Table may considered a Patient Bed.

Patient Bed Location. The location of an inpatient sleeping bed; or the bed or procedure table used in a critical patient care area.

Roger