Nurse Call Systems & Emergency Call
Systems
Overview of ANSI/UL 1069 and
ANSI/UL 2560
The Association of Electrical and Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Overview
• National Consensus Standards
 American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
• Nurse Call Systems
• Emergency Call Systems
 Overview of new UL2560 Standard
• Differences between UL1069 and UL2560
• Applicability of Standards
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Nurse Call Systems & UL1069
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Consensus Standards
• UL1069 complies with all relevant articles of
NFPA70 National Electrical Code and NFPA99
Health Care Facilities Code
• NFPA101 (Life Safety Code) 18.1.1.1.2/3
defines Healthcare facilities to be “…where the
occupants sleep there, but are not reasonably
able to evacuate themselves in an emergency”
 As such, these facilities have 24-hour staff on duty
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Nurse Call Systems
• UL1069 Hospital Signaling and Nurse Call
Equipment
 Created in 1977 by UL and Nurse Call industry
 7th edition (October 2007) clarifications/additions
focused on three areas:
• Wireless nurse call devices
• Definition and verification of core system elements
• Definition of oxygen-enriched testing for pendant controls
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Nurse Call Systems
Wireless Nurse Call Devices

Wireless initiating devices, as part of the fundamental
system, have clear limitations:
1) The intent of wireless devices is to extend the coverage of a
hard-wired system, however, only initiating devices can be
wireless
2) The fundamental notification devices MUST be wired
3) Wireless devices utilize a “shared” radio frequency (RF)
space
–
–
Not guaranteed to be available or work in all real world
environments
UL1069 adds requirements to assure best possible reliability
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Nurse Call Systems
Wireless Nurse Call Devices

Wireless initiating devices, as part of the fundamental
system, have clear limitations:
4) Devices are supervised. Loss of contact with receiver for more
than 90 seconds (including interference, loss of battery power,
damage, etc.) = a supervisory alarm
–
–

This requirement is based on testing the LARGEST possible
system
Note: On systems listed prior to Ed 7, the supervision time may
be 24 hours
Extensive testing required to assure devices will work
in predictable interference scenarios
•
Systems must have designs that “hop” or move frequencies to
work around potential interferences
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Nurse Call Systems
Fundamental System Requirements
 UL1069 defines the fundamental nurse call system
devices:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Patient Station
Bath Station
Emergency Station
Corridor Light
Console
Power and Control
Duty Station
A system without corridor lights cannot be UL1069 listed
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Nurse Call Systems
Oxygen-Enriched Environments
 UL1069-listed systems fully comply with NFPA 99 for
safety of pendant devices (call cords and pillow
speakers) in oxygen-enriched environments
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Emergency Call Systems & UL 2560
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Emergency Call Systems
UL2560 Emergency Call Systems for Assisted
Living and Independent Living Facilities
 1st edition published September, 2011
 Addresses minimum performance of emergency call
(e-call) systems in senior living communities
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Emergency Call Systems
UL2560 Requirements
 Placement
• Permanently fixed e-call station must be located in every
resident bathroom
• Additional optional stations at resident beds, elsewhere in
living areas and common areas are allowed
 Pendants
• Pendants are optional, but if included, must comply with the
standard
• Assigning pendants to residents does not remove
requirements for at least one fixed e-call station in each
resident bathroom
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Emergency Call Systems
UL2560 Requirements
 Call Indicator
• E-call stations and pendants must include call assurance
indication
 Central Notification Station
• There must be at least one notification station to receive all
calls
• Must be at a fixed location
• Additional optional portable notification stations are allowed
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Emergency Call Systems
UL2560 Requirements
 Origination Reporting
• The origin of a resident call must be reported at a
notification station
• The origin must be specific
– e.g.“Apt 117” or “3rd Floor Men’s Room”
 Cancellation
• Call (from fixed station or pendant) must be canceled at the
source of the call
• Exception: If the system can separate non-emergency
resident calls from emergency resident calls and there is
voice communication between the e-call station and
notification station
– Non-emergency calls can be canceled from notification station
after voice contact with resident has been made
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Emergency Call Systems
Other UL2560 Requirements





Connection Testing
System Testing
Back-up Power
Low Battery Alarm
Interference Testing
To obtain a copy of UL2560:
http://ulstandards.ul.com/standards-catalog/
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Comparison of the Standards
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Standards Comparison
UL1069
UL2560
Required Call Notification
Permanently
installed primary
console and
corridor lights
One or more call
notification stations , at
least one of which must
be in a fixed location
Supervision of Wireless
Initiating Devices
Every 90 seconds
Every 24 hours
Assumes patient is
not mobile
Assumes resident is
mobile
Required
Not required
Mobility
Nursing Staff 24/7
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Applicability of the Standards
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Applicability of Standards
When UL1069 Applies
 Systems covered by the standard are intended to be
installed in either General or Critical Care areas in
accordance with:
• National Electrical Code (NFPA 70)
• Health Care Facilities Code (NFPA 99)
• Life Safety Code (NFPA 101 - Chapter 18)
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Applicability of Standards
When UL2560 Applies
 Systems covered by standard are intended to be
installed in:
• Assisted and independent living facilities
– 24/7 staffing is not required
– Residents can reasonably be assumed to evacuate
themselves in an emergency
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Importance of Listing
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Importance of Listing
• When nurse call systems are listed to UL1069
and emergency call systems to UL2560, you
can count on:
 Product safety for all users
 System reliability
 Corporate integrity to design to the highest
standards now and as new requirements are
implemented
 Peace of mind for staff, patients, residents, and
relatives
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Additional Resources
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Additional Resources
NEMA Presentation
 A copy of this presentation is available for download at
http://www.nema.org/Products/Pages/Health-CareCommunications-and-Emergency-Call-Systems.aspx
UL Guide Cards for Standards
 UL Guide Cards for the UL 1069 and UL 2560 standards are
available at http://www.ul.com
• Click Nurse Call Systems for a link to the Nurse Call System Guide Card
• Click E-Call Systems for a link to the Emergency Call System Guide Card
Note: for the links to work, go to Slide Show mode
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Questions?
Thank You!
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Back Up Slides
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Emergency Call Systems
UL 2560
 Connection Testing/Electrical Supervision
• Wireless and telephony based e-call systems
must be self-testing so to report device faults
• Maximum time for fault to reported cannot exceed
24 hours
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Emergency Call Systems
UL 2560
 System Testing/Program Access and Control
• Many modern e-call systems incorporate one or
several microcontrollers
• If one of these microcontrollers fails, a fault
condition must be reported within 90 seconds
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Emergency Call Systems
UL 2560
 Backup Power
• UL 2560 requires a secondary power source that
provide power when main power fails
– Typically accomplished with batteries
– Assisted living/independent living facility can have an
on-site power generator but, if none exists, a secondary
power source must be provided to self-power ECS
• Manufacturer must specify length of time the
system will operate on backup power
– e.g. “With 10% of the emergency call stations in alarm,
backup batteries will continue to power the system for
12 hours”
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Emergency Call Systems
UL 2560
 Low Battery Alarm
• Wireless e-call system transmitters are typically
powered by batteries (replaceable or permanent)
• Low battery must be reported at least 7 days prior
to transmitter failure
• Manufacturer must state expected life of batteries
and conditions that comprise expectation
– e.g. “If five emergency calls are placed each day, the
battery will last at least 38 months”
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The Association of Electrical and
Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers
Emergency Call Systems
UL 2560
 Interference Testing
• Wireless e-call systems have to pass tests to
minimize possibility that operation will be
impaired by interfering signals
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