General Considerations

Section 205 Section 205.1320  General Considerations a)         Location 1)         An ambulatory surgical treatment center shall be identifiably separate from other facilities and functions. 2)         An ambulatory surgical treatment center may be located within an institution or building which is not primarily devoted to ambulatory surgery and may share facilities and functions with other portions of the institution or building as provided in Sections 205.1350(a) and 205.1390(e).  Such centers shall be separated from other portions of the institution or building by at least a one-hour fire separation.  Such centers may be located in a physician's office, group practice clinic, or other type of office building, unless routine traffic flow and operation of the other facilities located in the institution or building would interfere with the operation of the center. b)         Narrative Program 1)         The sponsor for each project shall provide a narrative program of functions for the facility which contains space requirements, staffing patterns, departmental relationships and other basic information relating to the fulfillment of the institution's objectives.  This may be a general or detailed description of each function to be performed, space needed for these functions, hours of operation, number of staff or other occupants of the various spaces, types of equipment required, interrelationship of various functions and spaces, and description of those services necessary for the complete functioning of the facility but which are available elsewhere in the community and, therefore, need not be duplicated in this facility.  The narrative program shall explain the type of surgery or procedures, the volume of work, the number of doctors, and the number of other staff. 2)         If the center is located in an institution or building which is not primarily devoted to ambulatory surgery, the narrative program shall describe the nature of any other offices and functions located in the institution or building and any steps which will be necessary to insure that routine traffic and operation of such offices and functions do not interfere with the operation of the center. c)         Size.  The extent (number and types) of the diagnostic, clinical, and administrative facilities to be provided shall be determined by the services contemplated and the estimated patient load as described in the narrative program. d)         Provisions for the Handicapped.  The design shall provide for accessibility by physically handicapped persons (public, staff, and patients). e)         Privacy for Patient.  The design of the facility shall provide for the privacy and dignity of the patient during interview, examination, and treatment. f) An ambulatory surgical treatment center licensed under the Act shall make reasonable efforts to have activated at all times the close captioning feature on a television in a common area provided for use by the general public or in a patient's room, or enable the closed captioning feature when requested to do so by a member of the general public or a patient, if the television includes a closed captioning feature.  As used in this subsection (f), "closed captioning" means a text display of spoken words presented on a television that allows a deaf or hard of hearing viewer to follow the dialogue and the action of a program simultaneously. 1) It is not a violation of this subsection (f) if the closed captioning feature is deactivated by a member of the ambulatory surgical treatment center's staff after such feature is enabled in a common area or in a patient's room unless the deactivation of the closed captioning feature is knowing and intentional.  It is not a violation of this subsection (f) if the closed captioning feature is deactivated by a member of the general public, a patient, or a member of the ambulatory surgical treatment center's staff at the request of a patient of the ambulatory surgical treatment center. 2) If the ambulatory surgical treatment center does not have a television that includes a closed captioning feature, then the ambulatory surgical treatment center shall ensure that all televisions obtained for common areas and patient rooms include a closed captioning feature. This subsection (f) does not affect any other provision of law relating to disability discrimination or providing reasonable accommodations or diminish the rights of a person with a disability under any other law. (Section 7c of the Act)