Meet Nursing Home Requirements with Cornell Systems
NFPA 99 & UL 1069 Nurse Call Equipment for Assisted Living
Designing a new assisted living facility? Upgrading an outdated nurse call system at a senior center? Whatever the building codes are in your area, Cornell supplies the NFPA 99 and ANIS/UL 1069 code compliant nurse call and emergency communication systems you may need to protect your residents. Contact the best nurse call system manufacturers at Cornell for help with:
As a partner with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Cornell is committed to designing and delivering safe, secure and effective emergency communication systems for nursing homes and assisted living centers across the country. Our nurse call systems meet NFPA 99, ANSI/UL 1069 and other major codes for long-term care and senior living facilities nationwide.
Navigating & Understanding Nursing Home Call System Regulations
Nursing home and skilled care facilities have to follow national building codes to meet nurse call system requirements. But state, county and even city laws can impact the design and implementation of your nurse call system. When building codes and nursing home requirements change, contact the professionals at Cornell to upgrade your nurse call system. We make sure all our systems remain up to date with the latest regulations.
There may be different nurse call regulations based on if your facility is classified as:
- Assisted living
- Senior center
- Nursing home
- Continuing care retirement community (CCRC)
- Alzheimer’s or memory center
- Hospice center
In some states, senior housing facilities are grouped with nursing homes, continuing care, hospitals, and other institutions—sometimes requiring them to install expensive equipment they don’t really need. In other states, assisted living facilities have separate regulations. Cornell can design the right nurse call system for your facility based on local requirements. The right system will meet your local requirements without wasting valuable space or budget.
Follow Building Codes to Keep Residents Safe and Families Happy
Even if your state doesn’t require a nurse call system for assisted living centers, it is in your best interest to install one anyway. These extra safety measures improve staff response times, save lives in an emergency, and give you a leg up on your competition. When helping elderly relatives find a safe place to live, will families choose the facility that barely meets the state’s minimum requirements or the one with an above-and-beyond, state-of-the-art emergency Cornell communication system?
Regulations of NFPA 99 Nurse Call Systems
Nurse call system regulation falls into two categories:
- Clinical regulations on protocol and procedures for code events
- NFPA 99 Codes regulating physical architecture, operation characteristics and implementation
All wireless nurse call systems, mobile nurse call systems and wired nurse call systems from Cornell are built to comply with NFPA 99 regulations. Most states rely on NFPA 99, but some have their own rules and supplements. NFPA 99, NFPA 70, state and local regulations all apply. While Cornell Communications is dedicated to creating code compliant nurse call systems, it is the customer's responsibility to ensure their facility meets all codes.
How to Follow NFPA 99 Code Call Regulations with Cornell
Code Call Initiation
- National, state and local building codes often define minimum requirements for nurse call systems
- Each responsible organization can add additional (or alternate) locations for call stations
- Calls are only expected to be initiated by trained staff
Code Call Notification
- Nurse call systems must have redundant forms of notification
- Calls initiated must be visibly and audibly annunciated at the call station
- All code calls must be audibly and visually annunciated at the primary nurse control station
- Code calls can be sent to pocket pagers or mobile nurse call systems carried by approved staff
- Code calls can be announced over paging system
- Approved staff can use the control console to manually page/call approved staff
- Code calls can be sent to additional nurse control stations
Expected Response Time
- Organizations are responsible for determining expected response times
- Overall installation and layout must account for worst case aggregate team and individual team locations at any given time
- Mobile nurse call systems, like inform can improve response times up to 75%
Ensure your facility meets all the NFPA 99 code call regulations for initiation, notification, and expected response time by using a custom Cornell nurse call system.
ANSI/UL 1069 Nurse Call System Requirements
The ANSI/UL 1069 details construction, performance, reliability and safety of nurse call system components. NFPA 99 guidelines define four different building categories:
- Category 1: facilities where failure of a nurse call system is likely to result in major injury or death of patients or caregivers require an ANSI/UL 1069 approved call system
- Category 2: facilities where failure of a nurse call system is likely to cause minor injury to patients or caregivers require an ANSI/UL 1069 approved call system
- Category 3: facilities where failure of a nurse call system is unlikely to cause injury but could cause patient discomfort do not require an ANSI/UL 1069 approved call system
- Category 4: facilities where failure of a nurse call system would have no impact on patient care do not require an ANSI/UL 1069 approved call system
All nurse call system parts from Cornell Communications meet ANSI/UL 1069 requirements.
ADA Compliant Nurse Call Systems for Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Centers
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) dictates what nursing homes, assisted living centers, and retirement communities must do for residents with varying levels of disabilities. In particular, Title III of the ADA applies to any facility of “public accommodation”. Comprehensive nurse call systems are one way to meet ADA requirements. Depending on your residents and staff, you may need a mixture of audible and visual systems. Cornell can provide a free quote for a custom ADA-compliant nurse call system based on your facility needs.
Get a Free Quote on Emergency and Nurse Call Systems
Cornell provides components for nurse call systems, area of rescue systems, door monitoring, and more. Get a quote on your whole new system or order replacement parts online, including:
- Pull string stations
- Bedside stations
- Call cords
- Annunciators
- Corridor lights
- Zone lights
- Power supplies
Not sure what you need? Our representatives are happy to help you any time. We will help you determine which components are necessary for your type of facility in order to meet ADA, NFPA 99, ANSI/UL 1069, and local regulations. Request your FREE nurse call system quote from Cornell online today.
