Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 310 - Oklahoma State Department of Health › Chapter 675 - Nursing and Specialized Facilities › Subchapter 5 - Physical Plant › Section 310:675-5-18 - Design and construction

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
The requirements in applicable portions of the National Fire
				  Protection Association (NFPA) 101: Life Safety Code, 2012 Edition, adopted in
				  81 Federal Register 26871 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
				  on July 5, 2016 are incorporated by reference. For Medicare or Medicaid
				  certified nursing or specialized facilities, the Life Safety Code adopted by
				  the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services prevails if there is a
				  conflict between the Life Safety Code and this Chapter. A high degree of safety
				  for the occupants shall be provided to minimize the incidence of accidents with
				  special consideration for residents who will be ambulatory to assist them in
				  self care. Hazards such as sharp corners shall be avoided.
(1)
Existing facilities.
Nonconforming portions which because of financial hardship are not being
				totally modernized, shall comply with the safety requirements dealing with
				details and finishes as listed in Chapter 13 NFPA Standard 1-1, 1981.
(2) New construction projects including
				additions and alterations. Details and finishes shall comply with the
				following:
(A) Items such as drinking
				fountains, telephone booths, vending machines, and portable equipment shall be
				located so as not to restrict corridor traffic or reduce the corridor width
				below the required minimum.
(B) All
				rooms containing bathtubs, sitz baths, showers, and water closets, subject to
				occupancy by residents, shall be equipped with doors and hardware which will
				permit access from the outside in any emergency. When such rooms have only one
				opening or are small, the doors shall be capable of opening outward or be
				otherwise designed to be opened without need to push against a resident who may
				have collapsed within the room.
(C)
				The minimum width of all doors to resident rooms and rooms needing access for
				beds shall be 3'8" (1.12 m.). Doors to rooms needing access for stretchers and
				to resident's toilet rooms and other rooms needing access for wheelchairs shall
				have a minimum width of 2'10" (86.3 cm.).
(D) Doors on all openings between corridors
				and rooms or spaces subject to occupancy, except elevator doors, shall be swing
				type. Openings to showers, baths, resident's toilets, and other small wet type
				areas not subject to fire hazard are exempt from this requirement.
(E) Windows and outer doors which may be
				frequently left in an open position shall be provided with insect screens.
				Windows shall be designed to prevent accidental falls when open.
(F) Resident rooms intended for occupancy of
				24 hours or more shall have windows operable without the use of tools and shall
				have sills not more than 3'0" (91 cm.) above the floor. Windows in buildings
				designed with an engineered smoke control system in accordance with NFPA 90A
				are not required to be operable. However, attention is called to the fact that
				natural ventilation possible with operable windows may in some areas permit a
				reduction in energy requirements.
(G) Doors, except doors to spaces such as
				small closets which are not subject to occupancy, shall not swing into
				corridors in a manner that might obstruct traffic flow or reduce the required
				corridor width. (Large walk-in type closets are considered as occupiable
				spaces.)
(H) Safety glazing shall
				be of materials and at locations required by the Oklahoma Safety Glazing
				Material Law.
(I) Thresholds and
				expansion joint covers shall be made flush with the floor surface to facilitate
				use of wheelchairs and carts and shall be constructed to restrict the passage
				of smoke.
(J) Grab bars shall be
				provided at all residents' toilets, showers, tubs, and sitz baths. The bar
				shall have 1 1/2" (3.8 cm.) clearance to walls and shall have sufficient
				strength and anchorage to sustain a concentrated load of 250 lbs. (113.4
				kg.).
(K) Recessed soap dishes
				shall be provided in showers and bathrooms.
(L) Handrails shall be provided on both sides
				of corridors used by residents. A clear distance of 1 1/2" (3.8 cm.) shall be
				provided between the handrail and the wall. Ends of handrails and grab bars
				shall be constructed to prevent snagging the clothes of residents.
(M) Location and arrangement of handwashing
				facilities shall permit their proper use and operation.
(N) Lavatories and handwashing facilities
				shall be securely anchored to withstand an applied vertical load of not less
				than 250 lbs. (113.4 kg.) on the front of the fixture.
(O) Mirrors shall be arranged for convenient
				use by residents in wheelchairs as well as by residents in a standing position.
				Mirrors shall not be installed at handwashing fixtures in food preparation
				areas.
(P) Provisions for hand
				drying shall be included at all handwashing facilities. These shall be
				single-use separate, individual paper or cloth units enclosed in such a way as
				to provide protection against the dust or soil and ensure single unit
				dispensing. Hot air dryers are permitted provided that installation is such to
				preclude possible contamination by recirculation of air.
(Q) The minimum ceiling height shall be 8'0"
				(2.44 m.) with the following exceptions:
(i)
				Boiler rooms shall have ceiling clearances not less than 2'6" (76 cm.) above
				the main boiler header and connecting piping.
(ii) Rooms containing ceiling-mounted
				equipment shall have height required to accommodate the equipment.
(iii) Ceilings in corridors, storage rooms,
				toilet rooms, and other minor rooms shall be not less than 7'8" (2.34
				m.).
(iv) Suspended tracks, rails
				and pipes located in path of normal traffic shall not be less than 6'8" (2.03
				m.) above the floor.
(R)
				Recreation rooms, exercise rooms, and similar spaces where impact noise may be
				generated shall not be located directly over resident bed areas unless special
				provisions are made to minimize such noise.
(S) Rooms containing heat producing equipment
				(such as boiler or heater rooms and laundries) shall be insulated and
				ventilated to prevent any floor surface above from exceeding a temperature
				10° F. (6° C.) above the ambient room temperature.