Hurricane Sandy has shown us that there is a thin line between functioning systems and a breakdown in life safety protections.   One need only look at New York City's Bellevue Hospital and NYU Hospitals to see that cascading system failures put lives at risk.  The dramatic image of patients being carried down flights of stairs illustrates the risk.

With floods, earthquakes and other calamities can come power loss, fire and blocked streets and no way for first responders to help.  It is times like these where onsite safety equipment like fire extinguishers, AEDs, first aid kits and medical oxygen go from being the first line of defense to the last resort protection in all facilities particularly in healthcare.  The factors that make fire extinguishers and other safety assets important don’t change in a catastrophe, faster response and having devices in the right place as the right time is vital.

The types of safety assets that should be monitored 24x7?  Fire extinguishers, medical oxygen tanks, AEDs, crash carts, emergency evacuation sleds and chairs, flash lights, emergency lights and more.  Be ready,  monitor your equipment.