An explosion and fire tore through the 9th floor of Hartford Hospital, Killing 16. The Connecticut tragedy would have an impact nationwide, changing hospital, educational, and hotel construction forever. It is typical for us to complain about the burden that regulations and laws create. We mumble about the added expense, the extra work, the interruptions in our busy days in order to participate in fire drills, document refrigerator temperatures, or follow OSHA safety guidelines. We ask why we have to do these things. The answer? Every single statute, law, regulation that exists in health care exists because a fellow human being was placed at risk, injured, or killed by an occurrence that was preventable. Viewed in this context, every time we follow these guidelines, every time we document an error or report something that went wrong, we save a life. For this discussion watch: The Hartford Hospital Fire For more on hospital fire safety see: CMS Releases New Fire Safety Requirements for Hospitals Personalize your thoughts about the need for regulatory practices. Include each of the following points in your discussion: . Find five items in your work-life subject to statutes, regulations, or laws (egress windows, rated fire doors, bloodborne pathogens, criminal background checks, etc.) . Conduct a search to find a reason(s) that this regulatory instrument of law exists . Discuss if the reason is sufficiently serious for your workplace to have to follow it . Share if you would like to work for a healthcare facility that does not follow the rules; for instance, if they did not provide all safeguards for bloodborne pathogens, thereby increasing your risk of contracting HIV