0720-37-.10
Facility Standards
Cite as Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0720-37-.10
(1)
General.
(a)
ACHs shall be operated and maintained to ensure a homelike environment.
(b)
Hardware for all exit and interior doors must have simple hardware that cannot be
locked against exit and must have an obvious method of operation. Hasps, sliding
bolts, hooks and eyes, and double key deadbolts are not permitted.
(c)
Sleeping rooms for all household occupants must have been constructed as a bedroom
when the home was built or remodeled; be finished with wall or partitions of standard
construction which go from floor to ceiling; have a door which opens directly to a
hallway or common use room without passage through another bedroom or common
room; be adequately ventilated, heated and lighted, with at least one window that
opens which meets fire safety regulations.
(d)
ACH providers, resident managers, staff, or family members shall not sleep in areas
designated as living areas or common use areas.
(2)
Resident sleeping rooms.
(a)
Each resident shall have his or her own sleeping room, not to be shared with any other
resident or staff member.
(b)
Each resident sleeping room must be a minimum of one hundred and twenty (120)
square feet or larger if necessary to accommodate the necessary equipment and
supplies for the care and services needed for residents with ventilator equipment.
STANDARDS FOR ADULT CARE HOMES – LEVEL 2
CHAPTER 0720-37
(c)
Each resident sleeping room must have at least one window or exterior door that will
readily open from the inside without special tools and which provides a clear opening of
not less than eight hundred twenty one (821) square inches (5.7 square feet), with the
least dimensions not less than twenty two (22) inches in height or twenty (20) inches in
width. Sill height must not be more than forty-four (44) inches from the floor level or
there must be approved steps or other aids to the window exit.
(d)
Each resident sleeping room must be in close enough proximity to the ACH provider,
ACH manager or caregiver in charge to alert him or her to nighttime needs or
emergencies or each resident sleeping room must be equipped with a call bell or
intercom that will enable residents to summon staff’s assistance when needed. The
summons must be audible in all areas of the ACH. Intercoms must not violate the
resident’s right to privacy and must have the capability of being turned off by the
resident or at the resident’s request.
(e)
Each resident sleeping room must be equipped with an individual bed consisting of a
mattress and springs, in good condition. Each bed must have clean bedding in good
condition consisting of bedspread, mattress pad, two sheets, a pillow, a pillowcase and
blankets adequate for weather.
(f)
Each resident sleeping room must have a private dresser and closet space sufficient
for the resident’s clothing and personal effects including hygiene and grooming
supplies. Residents must be allowed to keep and use reasonable amounts of personal
belongings.
(g)
Drapes or shades for windows must be provided and must be in good condition and
allow privacy for residents.
(h)
ACH providers shall not place residents who are unable to walk without assistance or
who are incapable of independent evacuation in a basement, split-level, second story
or other area that does not have an exit at the ground level.
(i)
Each resident sleeping room must have a second safe means of exit. A second safe
means of exit means that there must be two ways to safely exit the ACH from a
resident sleeping room. ACH providers with resident sleeping rooms above the first
floor shall be required to demonstrate an evacuation drill from that resident sleeping
room, using the secondary exit, at the time of licensure, renewal, or inspection.
(3)
Common use areas.
(a)
Common use areas must be accessible to all residents and may include the dining
room and the living room.
(b)
Each common use area shall have at a minimum one hundred fifty (150) square feet of
common living space and sufficient furniture to accommodate recreational and social
needs.
(c)
Common use areas must not be located in an unfinished basement or a garage.
(4)
Bathrooms.
(a)
Bathrooms must provide individual privacy with a door which opens to a hall or
common use room; a mirror; a window that opens or other means of ventilation; and a
window covering for privacy. No person shall have to walk through another person’s
sleeping room to get to a bathroom.
STANDARDS FOR ADULT CARE HOMES – LEVEL 2
CHAPTER 0720-37
(b)
Bathrooms must be clean and free of objectionable odors.
(c)
Bathrooms must have bathtubs, showers, toilets and sinks in good repair.
(d)
There must be at least one toilet, one sink and one bathtub or shower for every three
(3) household occupants.
(e)
Non-slip floor surfaces must be provided in bathtubs and showers.
(f)
Bathrooms must have grab bars for each toilet, bathtub and shower.
(g)
Each bathroom shall have an adequate supply of toilet paper and soap.
(h)
Each bathroom shall have appropriate racks or hooks for drying bath linens.
(i)
Each bathroom shall have hand towels or roller-dispensed hand towels or paper
towels.
(j)
The adult care home provider shall supply residents with clean, individual towels and washcloths.
(5)
Each ACH shall provide the following:
(a)
Current newspapers, magazines or other reading materials;
(b)
A telephone accessible to all residents to make and receive personal telephone calls
twenty-four (24) hours per day; and
(c)
A suitable and comfortable furnished area for activities and family visits. Furnishings
shall include a calendar and a functioning television set, radio and clock.