Section 250.2500  Electrical Requirements

a)         General

1)         All materials, including equipment, conductors, controls, and signaling devices, shall be installed in compliance with applicable sections of the NFPA 70, National Electric Code, including Article 517, and as necessary to provide a complete electrical system.

2)         All electrical installations, including alarm, nurses' call, and communication systems, shall be tested to demonstrate that the equipment installation and operation conform to these requirements.

b)         Switchboards and Power Panels

            These items shall comply with NFPA 70, National Electrical Code. The main switchboard shall be located in an area separate from plumbing and mechanical equipment and be accessible only to authorized persons.

c)         Panelboards.  Panelboards serving lighting and appliance circuits shall be located on the same floor as the circuits they serve.  This requirement does not apply to the life safety system.

d)         Lighting

1)         All spaces occupied by people, machinery, and equipment within buildings, approaches to and through exits from buildings, and parking lots shall have lighting.

2)         Patients' rooms shall be equipped with general lighting and night lighting.  A reading light shall be provided for each patient.  At least one light fixture for night lighting shall be switched at the entrance to each patient room.  All switches for control of lighting in patient areas shall be of the quiet operating type.

3)         Operating and delivery rooms shall have general lighting in addition to local lighting provided by special lighting units at the surgical and obstetrical tables.  The general lighting shall provide a minimum of 100 footcandles at the procedure tables.  Each fixed special lighting unit at the tables shall be connected to an independent circuit.

e)         Receptacles (Convenience Outlets)

1)         Each operating and delivery room shall have at least two receptacles installed on each wall or eight receptacles in diversified locations per room.

2)         Each patient room shall have duplex grounding type receptacles as specified in Article 517-83 and Article 517-84 of the National Electrical Code.  The mounting height of these receptacles shall be 22 to 42 inches above the finished floor.

3)         Duplex receptacles for general use shall be installed approximately 50 feet apart in all corridors and within 25 feet of the ends of corridors.  These receptacles shall be circuited to the emergency system.  Single polarized receptacles marked for use of X-ray only shall be located in corridors of patient areas so that mobile equipment may be used in any location within a patient room without exceeding a cord length of 50 feet attached to the equipment.  If the same mobile X-ray unit is used in operating rooms and in nursing areas, all receptacles for X-ray use shall be of a configuration that one plug will fit the receptacles in all locations.  Where capacitive discharge or battery-powered X-ray units are used, these polarized receptacles are not required.

f)         At least two X-ray film illuminators shall be installed in each operating, delivery, and recovery room, emergency treatment areas, and in the X-ray Viewing Room of the radiology department. More than two units shall be installed as needed.

g)         Nurses' Calling System

1)         Each patient room shall be served by at least one calling station and each bed shall be provided with a call button.  Two call buttons serving adjacent beds may be served by one calling station. Calls shall register with nursing staff and shall actuate a visible signal in the corridor at the patients' door.  In multicorridor nursing units, additional visible signals shall be installed at corridor intersections. In rooms containing two or more calling stations, indicating lights shall be provided at each station.  Nurses' calling systems that provide two-way voice communications shall be equipped with an indicating light at each calling station, which will remain lighted as long as the voice circuit is operating.

2)         Nurse call duty stations shall be installed in the clean work room, soiled work room, medicine preparation room, nourishment station, and nurses' lounge of the unit.

3)         A nurses' call emergency station shall be provided for patients' use at each patient's toilet, bath, sitz bath, and shower.  These stations are to be the pull-cord type with the cord reaching within 6 inches of the floor.  The cords shall be located within reach of a patient.

4)         In areas such as intensive care, cardiac care, recovery and similar patient care areas where patients are under constant surveillance, the nurses' calling system may be limited to a bedside station that will actuate a signal that can be readily seen by the other nurses.

5)         A communications system that may be used by nurses to summon assistance shall be provided in each operating, delivery, special procedure, birthing, recovery, emergency treatment, and critical care room; in nurseries; and in nursing units for psychiatric patients.

h)         Communication System

1)         A loudspeaker- type sound system shall be provided throughout the facility to allow for announcements, such as the paging of personnel and other necessary audio functions.

2)         Speakers shall be located in all departments to allow hospital personnel to adequately hear all audio outputs from the system.

3)         The system shall be used as the communication link for emergency announcements, i.e., code blue, impending disasters and others.  The audio line at the last speaker in the audio circuits shall be electrically supervised against opens and grounds.  The supervision shall be indicated at a building location that is staffed 24 hours a day.

i)          Emergency Electric Service

1)         To provide electricity during an interruption of the normal electric supply, an emergency source of electricity shall be provided and connected to the life safety branch, the critical branch, and the equipment branch for lighting and power as established in NFPA 70, National Electrical Code.

2)         The source of this emergency electric service shall be as follows:

A)        An emergency generating set when the normal service is supplied by one or more central station transmission lines.

B)        An emergency generating set or a central station transmission line when the normal electric supply is generated on the premises.

3)         Emergency Generating Set

A)        The required emergency generating set, including the prime mover and generator, shall be located on the premises.  Where stored fuel is required for the emergency generator operations, the storage capacity shall be sufficient for not less than 24-hours of continuous operation.

B)        The emergency generator set may be used during periods of high energy demands on local utilities.  In the event of an outage of the normal power source, the normal loads shall immediately be removed from the emergency generating set, and the life safety branch, the critical branch, and the equipment branch shall be connected to the generator.

(Source:  Amended at 35 Ill. Reg. 6386, effective March 31, 2011)