General building requirements

1. The facility shall design and equip areas for the comfort and privacy of each patient and patient's family. Each dwelling unit must have: a. A bed, a mattress, appropriate bedding, a bedside stand, and a chair appropriate to the needs and comfort of the patient. All furniture and furnishings must be well-constructed, comfortable, in good repair, kept clean, and maintained in a serviceable condition. b. Physical space for private patient and family visiting. c. Physical space to ensure visual privacy for personal care. d. Accommodations for the patient's family to remain with the patient. When sleeping accommodations, including a recliner, sleep chair, or sleep sofa, are in the patient room, adequate space for circulation when the furnishing is fully open must be provided so staff can access the patient in case of an emergency. Storage space must be provided to accommodate and secure overnight guests' belongings. e. If a hardwired communication system is used in patient dwelling units, each patient must be provided with a call device. Calls must be initiated by a patient activating a device that sends a call signal to the staff call station or a hand-held mobile device carried by a staff member. f. Bedroom windows must have window shades and provision shall be made for patient and family to completely darken the patient's room. 2. A facility shall allow patients to bring items from home to place in the bedroom to the extent the facility and space allows. 3. The facility shall provide space for storage of clean linen, clean supplies, patient care equipment, housekeeping, and cleaning supplies. 4. Grab bars must comply with all local, state, and federal requirements. Grab bars must be installed in all patient toilet rooms, showers, and bathing facilities. Toilets used by patients must allow sufficient clearance on both sides to enable physical access and maneuvering by caregivers who may have to assist patients in wheelchair-to-toilet transfers and returns. 5. Ground fault circuit interrupters must be provided for outlets within six feet of the outside edge of a sink. 6. A convenience portable space heater, portable halogen lamp, household-type electric blanket, or household-type heating pad may not be used in a facility. 7. The storage and transfilling of oxygen cylinders or containers must meet the requirements of the National Fire Protection Association 99, Standard for Health Care Occupancies, 2012 edition. 8. Electrically powered exhaust ventilation must be provided in all soiled areas, wet areas, toilet rooms, and storage rooms. Clean storage rooms may also be ventilated by supplying and returning air from the building's air-handling system. The facility shall provide for adequate ventilation to assure an odor-free, comfortable environment. 9. Office space and other areas must be furnished with desks, chairs, lamps, cabinets, benches, worktables, or other furnishings essential to the proper use of the area. 10. Families shall have showering capabilities in a dedicated toilet room. 11. Staff shall have showering capabilities in a dedicated staff toilet room. 12. An essential electrical source must provide lighting for at least a ninety-minute duration during an interruption of the normal electrical supply. Illumination must be automatic and is permitted to be met by means, such as: a. Two separate electric lighting systems with independent wiring. One system is permitted to be supplied from an outside source, such as a public utility service, and the other from an electric generator on the premises driven by an independent source of power; or b. An electric circuit, or circuits, used only for means of egress illumination, with two independent electric sources arranged so that, on the failure of one, the other will automatically and immediately operate. One such source is permitted to be a connection from a public utility, or similar outside power source, and the other an approved storage battery with suitable provisions to keep it automatically charged. 13. Emergency lighting for safe egress and access shall be evaluated for all facilities. Each patient bedroom must have general lighting and night lighting. 14. Functional testing shall be conducted monthly for not less than thirty minutes for generators and not less than thirty seconds for battery-powered lighting. Functional testing shall also be conducted annually for a minimum of ninety minutes.