Change Summary

• Section 517.18(C) has been revised to align with the requirement in NFPA 99, Section 6.3.2.2.6.2(F)
• The revision results in correlation with NFPA 99 incorporating extracted material in this section
• The revisions clarifies that the tamper-resistant receptacle requirements apply to designated general care pediatric locations and not patient care areas

Expert Analysis

The health care requirements in Article 517 must correlate and not conflict with the provisions in NFPA 99, the Health Care Facilities Code. This revision in 517.18(C) is required as the new text is now extracted directly from NFPA 99 and is followed with the NFPA 99 Section in brackets. Receptacles covered by this requirement are those installed in patient rooms, bathrooms, playrooms, and activity rooms of pediatric units, other than nurseries of designated general care locations. The revisions, as compared to the previous requirement, are that the tamper-resistant receptacles are only required in designated general care pediatric locations and not specifically in the patient care areas. It should be noted that the term patient room is still included in this requirement, and patient care could be administered within a patient room. As in the previous edition, these requirements can be accomplished by installing either a listed tamper-resistant receptacle(s), or a listed tamper-resistant cover. The governing body of the health care facility is typically responsible for designation of patient care rooms, spaces, or areas in health care facilities. This revision aligns the NEC with NFPA 99 relative to locations where receptacles must be tamper-resistant because of the normal presence of children.