The simple definition of a patient care space is: “Any space of a health care facility wherein patients are intended to be examined or treated” [Art. 100]. But correctly understanding this means being clear on what is meant by a health care facility.
Perhaps we could say that a gym is a health care facility because working out is a way to care for your health. Indeed, your doctor might even suggest you try a membership. But gyms have patrons, not patients, and they’re not in the business of providing medical exams or medical procedures. So a gym is not a health care facility.
While the preceding example tells us something obvious and few of us would classify a gym as a healthcare facility (and thus consider it under Art. 517), what about a psychiatrist’s office? You’d be a patient in this context, and any therapy would be considered treatment. But what if said office is in the doctor’s home? Does “facility” still apply? Many such questions can arise at the boundaries of these terms. And what about veterinarians’ offices? Those facilities treat and examine patients. But the NEC is referring to patients who are humans [Art. 517.1].
The good news is you don’t have to do a deep dive into word meanings. The Informational Note goes on to list four categories of patient care space. These are designated not by the electrician, but by the owner of the facility (in response to a regulatory body). A similar approach is taken with hazardous locations. Just as it’s outside your purvey to determine the hazardous location class [Art. 500], it’s outside your purvey to determine the patient care space category. It does help to be familiar with these, so here’s a “short version” description of each:
- Category 1. Failure of equipment or a system is likely to cause major injury or death (to patients, staff, or visitors).
- Category 2. Failure of equipment or a system is likely to cause minor injury (to patients, staff, or visitors).
- Category 3. Failure of equipment or a system is likely to cause discomfort (to patients, staff, or visitors).
- Category 4. Failure of equipment or a system is unlikely to cause an adverse physical effect on patient care.
If the category isn’t designated on the job spec or the working drawings and the area doesn’t strike you as obviously being used for patient care (an OR, for example, obviously is used for patient care), you can simply ask a doctor or nurse if a given area is used for patient care. If it is, then it comes under Art. 517.
