Reminder: High-rise healthcare facilities must be fully sprinklered by 2028

As a reminder, existing high-rise healthcare occupancies – including critical access hospitals, hospitals, inpatient hospice facilities, and nursing care centers – must be fully sprinklered by July 5, 2028. This is stipulated in the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule on July 5, 2016, when CMS adopted the 2012 edition of the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Life Safety Code®* (NFPA 101-2012). (Life Safety Code® is a registered trademark of the National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, Massachusetts.)

With the deadline 3-1/2 years away, The Joint Commission is reminding healthcare organizations about this large-scale improvement project to install sprinklers throughout unsprinklered or partially sprinklered facilities. As of July 5, 2025, only 25% of the grace period remains. 

Life Safety Code surveyors will be discussing compliance plans during survey in high-rise facilities that are not yet fully sprinklered. 

Joint Commission accredited organizations should contact their account executive for questions about compliance.