ASHE Health Care Facility Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under The Joint Commission (TJC) Environment of Care standards, which utility system must have a written inventory with risk assessments?
- Kitchen equipment only
- All utility systems supporting patient care (Correct answer)
- Only electrical distribution systems
- HVAC systems above 10 tons capacity
Correct answer: All utility systems supporting patient care
TJC EC.02.05.01 requires a written inventory of all utility systems that affect patient care, along with associated risk assessments.
Question 2: What is the primary purpose of a Health Care Facility Condition Index (FCI)?
- Scheduling preventive maintenance intervals
- Comparing deferred maintenance costs to replacement value (Correct answer)
- Ranking hospitals by patient satisfaction
- Estimating annual energy consumption
Correct answer: Comparing deferred maintenance costs to replacement value
FCI = deferred maintenance cost divided by current replacement value; a higher FCI indicates a facility in poorer condition.
Question 3: NFPA 99 classifies a patient care space as a Category 1 location when failure of equipment or a system would cause which outcome?
- Minor inconvenience to staff
- Likely patient death or permanent harm (Correct answer)
- Temporary interruption of non-critical services
- Loss of data only
Correct answer: Likely patient death or permanent harm
NFPA 99 Category 1 spaces are those where equipment or system failure is likely to cause major injury or death to patients or caregivers.
Question 4: Which ventilation parameter is MOST critical when designing an airborne infection isolation (AII) room?
- Supply air temperature set point
- Negative pressure differential relative to corridor (Correct answer)
- Relative humidity above 60%
- HEPA filtration on supply air only
Correct answer: Negative pressure differential relative to corridor
AII rooms must maintain negative pressure (≥0.01 in. w.g.) relative to adjacent areas to prevent pathogens from escaping the room.
Question 5: A healthcare facility's emergency operations plan (EOP) must address which HICS component?
- Incident Command System structure (Correct answer)
- Real-time asset depreciation tracking
- Annual capital budget projections
- Vendor contract renewal schedules
Correct answer: Incident Command System structure
The Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) provides the ICS-based organizational structure required within a hospital's EOP.
Question 6: According to ASHRAE 170, what is the minimum number of total air changes per hour (ACH) required in an operating room?
- 6 ACH
- 10 ACH
- 20 ACH (Correct answer)
- 30 ACH
Correct answer: 20 ACH
ASHRAE 170 requires a minimum of 20 total ACH in operating rooms to maintain air quality and reduce infection risk.
Question 7: In a healthcare facility, a 'hot work' permit is required before beginning which activity?
- Replacing ceiling tiles
- Welding, cutting, or brazing near combustible materials (Correct answer)
- Installing new electrical outlets
- Painting interior walls
Correct answer: Welding, cutting, or brazing near combustible materials
Hot work permits control ignition-source activities such as welding and cutting that pose fire risks, especially near combustibles or in patient care areas.
ASHE Health Care Facility Management 2
Under The Joint Commission (TJC) Environment of Care standards, which utility system must have a written inventory with risk assessments?