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16 Medical Construction & Design | M AY/ J U N E 2016 | MCDM AG.COM news, awards, etc. Industry COLLABORATION ASHE, Powered for Patients Begin Dialogue on Emergency Backup Power The American Society for Healthcare Engineering and Powered for Patients are working together on a new project that highlights the importance of providing appropriate backup power in hospitals. The two groups created the Health Care Leadership Initiative on Maintenance of Power to: > Create a dialogue around the role of hospitals and other healthcare facilities in maintain- ing power > Address questions of how cogeneration and microgrid technologies fi t into strategies for maintaining power and how to implement a best practices approach > Explore how health facilities can allocate limited resources for needed investments in non- revenue generating backup power systems and investments in revenue-generating equipment > Provide resources to help spur further action around power maintenance best practices Visit www.ashe.org/power for more information. Charles Wagner, Jr./Dreamstime Updated Standards Manual Includes New Chapter on Testing, Balancing The Associated Air Balance Council has released the AABC National Standards for Total System Balance, 7th Edition. The manual, last updated in 2002, details the minimum standards for total system balance, assists design professionals in achieving design intent and ensures that proper methods and procedures are followed. The updated manual contains a new chapter on "Testing and Balancing Health Care Facilities." The new healthcare chapter covers testing and bal- ancing of systems presented in ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170-2008 Ventilation of Health Care Facilities1, NFPA 99-2005 Standard for Health Care Facilities2 and FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities. For details, visit aabc.com. AHI Papers Address Five Critical Issues Af ecting Nation's Healthcare Facilities The Institute's Academy for Healthcare Infrastruc- ture recently released fi ve white papers addressing some of the most important issues affecting the in- frastructure of the nation's healthcare facilities. In early 2015, fi ve AHI Interdisciplinary Research Teams set out to identify best practices, envision the future of the healthcare infrastructure industry and engage appropriate industry leaders to develop new approaches for solving critical problems. Each of the teams consisted of leaders from the healthcare facilities industry and related sub- ject matter experts, as well as an academician to facili- tate the process for compiling the data and developing a white paper for publication. For details, visit nibs.org. Sherwin-Williams Names Color of the Year Sherwin-Williams recently announced Alabaster, a symbol of new beginnings, as the 2016 Color of the Year. The color encourages a time to relax and re- examine, at a time when people are faced with excess and clutter. "Alabaster represents a straightforward and necessary shift to mindfulness, well-being and an atmosphere that is pure," said Jackie Jordan, director of color marketing, Sherwin-Williams. "It provides an oasis of calm- ness, spirituality and 'less is more' visual relief. Alabaster is neither stark nor overly warm, but rather an understated and alluring hue of white." FGI Study of Clearances Needed to Provide Safe Care for Patients of Size During the 2018 Guidelines revision cycle, members of the FGI Bariatric Accommodations Topic Group met in fall 2015 to assess the clearances needed for safe patient handling and transportation of patients of size (formerly termed bariatric patients). The group worked with a mock- up of a patient room and a patient toilet room and considered clear- ances needed when using overhead lifts and fl oor-based lifts, as well as transporting patients on stretchers and beds. The clearances identifi ed were used to write proposals to update the requirements for design- ing the physical environment for areas where patients of size are cared for. Download a summary of the group's fi ndings at fgiguidelines.org.