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Article 517.20 ofthe NEC indicates that the wiring and protection requirements of 517 apply to patient care spaces of all healthcare facilities. Where the definition of patient care space and vicinity really affect the electrical design and construction of a facility is in thewiring requirements. Why does a clear understanding of patient vicinity and patient care space matter? Like everything else inthe code, these terms are used in other sections to inform and implement additional criteria. Not every profession can say they make decisions based on a potential outcome of "major injury or death.") (As a side note, I always pause when I read these definitions. The categories of spaces define the range of risk to patients or caregivers from "not likely to cause injury" to "likely to cause major injury or death." NFPA 99 also provides Annex material,whichis additional explanatory material regardingthe space (room) criteria. The patient care space encompasses the patient vicinity-but is not limited to the wingspan parameters of the vicinity definition.The article provides further information to clarify basic care spaces, general care spaces, critical care spaces, and support spaces. The NEC definitions for spaces are derived from the NFPA 99 definitions of "patient care rooms." NFPA 99 defines the general description of "patient care room" with the same words that 517.2 uses for "patient care space" as "space within a healthcare facility wherein patients are intended to be examined or treated." In contrast, the patient care space has a much broader range of coverage. This definition is intended not only for inpatient functions but also for outpatient services, and is not just limited to a hospital bed location.
DEFINITION VICINITY CODE
"Patient vicinity" is defined in NFPA 99: Health Care Facilities Code and reiterated by Article 517.2 in NFPA 70: National Electric Code (NEC) as "a space, within a location intended for the examination and treatment of patients, extending 1.8 m (6 ft) beyond the normal location of the patient bed, chair, table, treadmill, or other device that supports the patient during examination and treatment and extending vertically to 2.3 m (7 ft, 6 in) above the floor." So, in simple terms, the patient vicinity is the area within the wingspan of the patient. Both include the word "patient," so they mean the same thingĀ right? Wrong. One of the more prevalent misunderstandings I see is the interpretation of patient vicinity versus patient care space. A simple word like "shall" means something very different than the phrase "shall be permitted," a distinction that if missed often leads to confusion regarding implementation of a code. If there is one thing I have learned while dealing with codes, it is that words do matter.