(file photo)
By: Danny Bonvissuto

Ah, the holiday season: A time for merriment, festivity … and safety regulations. Vanderbilt Health supports holiday décor — as long as it doesn’t pose an infection or safety risk to our staff and patients. This Q&A outlines the details, do’s and don’ts.

Why must there be rules around festivity?

Excessive and inappropriate holiday décor brings additional fire and infection risk to our patients. Many items are synthetic and can burn hot, fast and produce thick black smoke that will feed a fire. If decorations are excessive and burn, the heat produced may overwhelm the capabilities of our sprinklers, allowing the fire to spread.

No matter how merry you feel, less is best in terms of office decor. Items should always be minimal, in good taste, in compliance with policy and not be a safety or infection risk to our patients and staff.

How can we safely deck our halls?

Approved holiday décor can include but may not be limited to:

  • A single strand of lights plugged into a wall outlet or an approved power strip with surge protection. It can only be plugged in when staff are present.
  • Small inflatables that do not cause trip hazards or impede egress access (no corridors, aisles that staff travel through, or in front of doors). These must be deflated when staff are not present
  • Small decorations that are made of approved materials — cleanable and no part labeled or identified as flammable (flash point below 100F)— that does not exceed 20% of the total surface of a wall or door
  • Small fake trees that are in public areas such as office waiting rooms or lobbies

What’s off limits?

  • Multiple strands of lights (daisy chained), lights that have bulbs that get hot, or lights in a patient’s room
  • Tinsel, angel hair material or other materials that are highly flammable/combustible
  • Real trees, wreaths or other plant-like decorations. Small potted plants are okay except in areas that do not allow live vegetation
  • Decorations that cover doors or door frames. Décor can cover20% of a standard door and a 11×17 area on patient doors. No decoration is permitted on fire doors
  • No cross-corridor decorations
  • Nothing wrapped or hanging from a handrail
  • Nothing that impedes egress, fire extinguishing equipment or is within 18 inches of a sprinkler.
  • Do not move ceiling tiles to hang décor as this creates penetration that will allow any smoke/fire above ceiling to enter the clinical space
  • Per Vanderbilt Health policy, tape and other adhesives that cause damage to walls or leave residue is not permitted. The residue creates an infection risk if walls are damaged when items are taken down. It also creates work and costs to our facilities management team. 
  • Many décor items used cannot be cleaned. This permits dust to be collected, which can harbor harmful bacteria