The Joint Commission has revised several Life Safety Standards for its accredited residential behavioral healthcare facilities, effective July 1, 2018.  

According to The Joint Commission, the revisions to the “Residential Occupancy” requirements for applicable organizations are designed to maintain alignment with the 2012 edition of the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 101: Life Safety Code. 

The revisions mostly update references to chapters of NFPA 101-2012, including Chapter 32: New Residential Board and Care Occupancies and Chapter 33: Existing Residential Board and Care Occupancies. The edits make greater distinction between requirements for existing and new buildings and those for small and large organizations. 

Questions should be directed to The Joint Commission’s Kenneth A. Monroe at kmonroe@jointcommission.org.