NOTE: All references are taken from NFPA 99 – 2012 edition, this is an update from the original post which was made on September 3rd, 2015

There seems to be much confusion over the requirements set out by NFPA 99 for existing facilities vs. those for new construction / renovation work.  The 2012 edition of NFPA 99 has done a great deal to help bring more clarity to this issue.

5.1.1.5 Subsection 5.1.2 through 5.1.12.3.14.5 and 5.1.14.4.2
shall apply to new health care facilities or facilities making
changes that alter the piping.

5.1.1.6 Paragraph 5.1.14.4.3 through 5.1.14.4.9 and 5.1.13
through 5.1.15 shall apply to existing health care facilities.

NOTE: TIA 12-4 from NFPA 99 – 2012 edition changed the wording from 5.1.1.6 and gave (10) paragraphs that apply to existing healthcare facilities.  These are listed below:

5.1.1.6 The following subsections of this chapter shall apply to the operation, management, and maintenance of Category 1 medical gas and vacuum systems in existing facilities:

(1) 5.1.2
(2) 5.1.3.1
(3) 5.1.3.2
(4) 5.1.3.3.1.7
(5) 5.1.3.3.1.8
(6) 5.1.3.3.4
(7) 5.1.3.6.2
(8) 5.1.3.8.5.2
(9) 5.1.14
(10) 5.1.15

NFPA 99 doesn’t mention a specific schedule for medical gas outlet testing on existing outlets, it just says periodic.  The healthcare facility will need to make a policy that says how often the med gas outlets get checked (i.e. every three years etc) and adhere to that.

The section of NFPA 99 that specifies all outlets / inlets must be checked falls under the new construction / renovation portion.  (5.1.5* Station Outlets/Inlets & 5.1.12.3 System Verification)  These requirements as they are written in 5.1.5 & 5.1.12.3 are not intended to be applied to existing healthcare facilities.

The medical gas outlet testing section for 5.1.14 is as follows:

5.1.14.2 Maintenance of Medical Gas, Vacuum, WAGD, and
Medical Support Gas Systems.
5.1.14.2.1* General. Health care facilities with installed medical
gas, vacuum,WAGD, or medical support gas systems, or combinations
thereof, shall develop and document periodic maintenance
programs for these systems and their subcomponents as appropriate
to the equipment installed.

5.1.14.2.3.1 General. The elements in 5.1.14.2.2.2 through
5.1.15 shall be inspected or tested as part of the maintenance
program as follows:
(11)*Station outlets/inlets, as follows:
(a) Flow
(b) Labeling
(c) Latching/delatching
(d) Leaks

Remember that the * next to (11) refers to additional material which is located in the annex  of NFPA 99.  In this case A.5.1.14.2.3.1(11) simply states that the outlets should be inspected for a general condition & be gas specific (noninterchangeable indexing).

Annex material is not enforceable as code and is meant for reference only however, that doesn’t mean that an AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) will not use annex material for a given facility or situation.  Just be aware of the additional requirements located in the annex for this section and take them into consideration when doing your risk assessments and writing your medical gas outlet testing policy.

Calibration of CO (Carbon Monoxide) Monitors for Medical Air Systems

If you’re a healthcare facility with a medical air compressor system, then you have a carbon monoxide or CO monitor on that system.  NFPA 99 requires that the CO monitor be calibrated at least annually or more often if recommended by the manufacturer (NFPA 99 2012 ed. 5.1.14.4.7(2) or 2018 ed. 5.1.14.5.7(2)).  The “gotcha” moment here is with the second part of that statement regarding the manufacturer’s recommendations.  The chart below lists some of the manufacturers recommendations for CO monitors commonly used on medical air compressor systems.  As you will see, every single one of them require calibration more often than the annual frequency mentioned in NFPA 99.

Be sure to identify what type of CO monitor each of your medical air systems has on it and take steps to ensure you have documentation showing you are calibrating the monitor(s) per the manufacturer’s recommendations.  Keep in mind, if you have multiple medical air systems, you might have different monitors on those systems and they may have different calibration schedules.

Medical air is one of the most crucial medical gases serving an NFPA 99 Category 1 facility or space. It is typically responsible for keeping ventilators and blenders running and downtime of any length is simply not acceptable.

When work must be performed on the air compressor source, especially within the control panel, power may have to be disrupted to safely complete that job. One way that EMGS helps ensure that the medical air supply remains uninterrupted is to provide a back feed manifold setup located just downstream of the medical air dryers but upstream of the source valve (or at an auxiliary valve, if available, immediately downstream of the source valve).

The back feed manifold is a fairly simple setup while still allowing for change out of one cylinder at a time. The manifold can be extended to more cylinders if the facility flow is very high, or the duration of shutdown is long enough to require it.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about medical air or any other medical gas or vacuum temporary setups. We offer rental manifolds, rental medical vacuum systems and rental medical air systems to help with your next shutdown.

When you have a hospital of any age it is likely that you probably have outlets manufactured by more than one company. When this happens you may get outlet repair parts mixed up especially in the case of Amico and Beacon (Series B) style outlets. If you’ve ever rebuilt the latch valve of one of these outlets and noticed that you fixed the leak but created a flow problem (low or no flow) the reason is because of the dust cap used by Amico and Beacon Medaes.

At first glance they appear to be identical, but upon further inspection you will notice subtle differences in each one. Amico has two different styles that come in their standard repair kit, a white cap and a gray cap. The gray cap can be put aside because we are talking specifically about Ohmeda/Medaes Diamond style quick connect outlets. The gray dust cap is specifically for Chemetron (Allied Healthcare) style vacuum inlets.

In the picture below you will note a couple of key differences. The front of the Beacon Medaes dust cap has three lines that meet in the middle to form a triangle. The Amico dust cap is flat with no texture. If you look at the back you will notice another key difference and this is what can cause flow issues. The Amico has a raised portion on the inside front of the dust cap, but the raised portion is solid. The Beacon Medaes dust cap also has a raised portion but it is hollow and has a hole in the middle, this allows the brass poppet to seat slight further within the barrel than on the Amico latch valve. That is why mixing the dust caps can cause no flow issues when Amico dust caps are used on Beacon Medaes outlets.

The moral of the story is be sure to keep your outlet parts segregated and use the appropriate manufacturer repair parts for each individual outlet or inlet.