How Metro Health Builds a Culture of Safety: Inside their Approach to Education, Fire Protection, and Compliance

In the world of healthcare facilities management, a safe environment doesn’t happen by accident. It is deliberately engineered through training, vigilance, and a deep understanding of regulatory requirements. Few professionals demonstrate this better than Donna Runyan Geringher, Facilities Manager for Fire Protection Systems at Metro Health in Cleveland, Ohio.

Her appearance on the Healthcare Facilities Network episode “A Leadership Journey: From Locksmith Apprentice to Facilities Manager” reveals how Donna’s commitment to ongoing education and real-world fire-protection practices has strengthened safety across the organization.

Unique Path to Healthcare Compliance: A Self-Taught Expert Who “Loves Codes”

Donna’s journey into hospital fire safety and compliance is unconventional—and it’s exactly what makes her so effective. After starting her career as a locksmith, she quickly realized the importance of understanding fire door and life safety codes. That curiosity led her to read NFPA 80 cover to cover.

Her learning didn’t stop with NFPA 80. Today, Donna studies:

• NFPA codes and state fire regulations
• Building and life safety standards
• Real-world fire event case studies
• Engineering and safety documentaries

Learning Through Incidents: Transforming Real Events Into Training Opportunities

One of the most powerful elements of Donna’s leadership is her ability to learn from, and teach through, real events. Whether it’s a lithium-ion battery fire, a sprinkler failure, a long-term care tragedy, or a ventilation issue, she digs into what went wrong, what could have prevented it, and what Metro Health can change going forward.

Her guiding rule: “Don’t make the news.”

Educating Staff: Clear, Respectful, and Focused on the ‘Why’

Hospitals run on collaboration, and Donna knows frontline staff are rarely experts in fire codes or compliance standards. Her educational approach focuses on clarity, respect, and empowerment—not criticism.

She teaches by:

• Breaking down complex fire codes into simple language
• Offering compliant alternatives instead of shutting ideas down
• Ending every conversation by emphasizing what staff can do

Donna’s proactive mindset was on display when Metro Health experienced an internal incident involving a patient whose clothing had caught fire. Although staff followed code-required fire drill procedures perfectly, Donna identified a critical gap: NFPA-required drills do not teach staff how to extinguish a person whose clothing is burning.

She immediately updated fire drill training to include blanket-smothering techniques, “stop, drop, and roll,” and burn-response procedures.

A Collaborative Approach to Surveys and Regulatory Compliance

Donna doesn’t see surveyors—whether Joint Commission or state fire marshals—as adversaries. She views them as partners in maintaining hospital safety. She prepares meticulously for surveys but debates findings respectfully and uses each experience to refine processes.

Donna ensures Metro Health will remain safe and compliant even if roles change or staff retire. She documents everything, creates repeatable systems, and trains others so no one has to “start from scratch.” At a time when hospitals face aging infrastructure, new fire risks, survey pressures, and workforce shortages, Donna’s leadership, rooted in education, discipline, and compassion, is instructive for FM facilities nationwide.

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