CMS Issues Final Rule on Fire Safety Requirements, Adopts 2012 NFPA Life Safety Code Provisions

​On May 4, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule to update healthcare facilities' fire protection guidelines, bringing them in line with provisions of the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) 2012 editions of the Life Safety Code and the Health Care Facilities Code. The rule applies to ambulatory surgery centers, hospitals, and long-term care facilities, among others. CMS had previously adopted the year 2000 versions of NFPA's codes.