Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 310 - Oklahoma State Department of Health › Chapter 661 - Hospice › Subchapter 8 - Hospice Inpatient Facility Physical Plant › Section 310:661-8-1 - General

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a) These requirements are intended as
				minimum standards for constructing and equipping a hospice inpatient facility
				of twelve beds (12) beds or less. Inpatient hospice facilities containing three
				(3) beds or less shall only be required to comply with the physical plant
				requirements contained in Section
				310:661-8-14
				of this subchapter. Insofar as practical, these rules relate to desired
				performance or results or both. Details of construction and engineering are
				assumed to be part of good design practice and local building regulations.
				Design and construction shall conform to the requirements of these rules.
				Requirements set forth in these rules shall be considered as minimum. For
				aspects of design and construction not included, local governing building codes
				shall apply. Where there is no local governing building code, the prevailing
				model code used within the geographic area is hereby specified for all
				requirements not otherwise specified in these rules.
(b) These rules are not intended to restrict
				innovations and improvements in design or construction techniques. Accordingly,
				the Department may approve plans and specifications which contain deviations if
				it is determined that the respective intent or objective has been
				met.
(c) All facilities shall
				comply, insofar as practical, with applicable sections of these standards and
				with appropriate parts of NFPA 101, 2000 edition, covering Health Care
				Occupancies which is incorporated by reference. Where major structural elements
				make total compliance impractical or impossible, exceptions may be considered
				by the Department. This does not guarantee that an exception shall be granted,
				but does attempt to minimize restrictions on those improvements where total
				compliance would not substantially improve safety, but would create an
				unreasonable hardship. This subchapter shall not be construed as prohibiting a
				single phase of improvement. However, they are not intended as an encouragement
				to ignore deficiencies when resources are available to correct life-threatening
				problems.
(1) When construction is complete,
				the facility shall satisfy functional requirements for a hospice inpatient
				facility in an environment that shall provide acceptable care and safety to all
				occupants.
(2) In renovation
				projects and those making additions to existing facilities, only that portion
				of the total facility affected by the project shall comply with applicable
				sections of these standards and with appropriate parts of NFPA 101, 2000
				edition, covering New Health Care Occupancies.
(3) Those existing portions of the facility
				which are not included in the renovation but which are essential to the
				functioning of the complete facility, as well as existing building areas that
				receive less than substantial amounts of new work shall, at a minimum, comply
				with that section of NFPA 101, 2000 edition, for Existing Health Care
				Occupancies.
(4) Conversion to
				other appropriate use or replacement shall be considered when cost prohibits
				compliance with acceptable standards.
(5) When a building is converted from one
				occupancy to another, it shall comply with the new occupancy requirements. For
				purpose of life safety, a conversion from a hospital or nursing facility to a
				hospice inpatient facility or vice versa is not considered a change in
				occupancy.
(6) When parts of an
				existing facility essential to continued overall facility operation cannot
				comply with particular standards, those standards may be waived by the
				Commissioner of Health if patient care and safety are not
				jeopardized.
(7) Renovations,
				including new additions, shall not diminish the safety level that existed prior
				to the start of the work; however, excess of that required for new facilities
				is not required.