Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(a) A facility
shall meet the following requirements for bedrooms:
(1) single bedrooms shall be provided with
not less than 100 square feet of floor area;
(2) bedrooms with more than one bed shall be
provided with not less than 80 square feet of floor area per bed;
(3) bedrooms shall have windows with views to
the outdoors. The gross window area shall not be less than eight percent of the
bedroom floor area required by Subparagraphs (1) and (2) of this
Paragraph;
(4) each bedroom shall
be provided with one closet or wardrobe per bed. In nursing facilities and the
nursing home portion of combination facilities, the closet or wardrobe shall
have clothing storage space of not less than 36 cubic feet per bed with
one-half of this space for hanging clothes. In the adult care home portion of a
combination facility, the closet or wardrobe shall have clothing storage space
of not less than 48 cubic feet per bed with one-half of this space for hanging
clothes; and
(5) floor space for
closets, toilet rooms, vestibules, or wardrobes shall not be included in the
areas required by this Subparagraph.
(b) A facility shall meet the following
requirements for dining, activity, and common use areas:
(1) nursing facilities and the nursing home
portion of combination facilities shall have:
(A) a separate area or areas set aside for
dining, measuring not less than 10 square feet per bed;
(B) a separate area or areas set aside for
activities, measuring not less than 10 square feet per bed; and
(C) an additional dining, activity and common
use area or areas, measuring not less than five square feet per bed. This area
may be in a separate area or combined with the separate dining and activity
areas required by Part (A) and (B) of this Subparagraph.
(2) the adult care home portion of
combination facilities shall have:
(A) a
separate area or areas set aside for dining, measuring not less than 14 square
feet per bed; and
(B) a separate
area or areas set aside for activities, measuring not less than 16 square feet
per bed.
(3) the dining
room area or areas required by this Paragraph may be combined.
(4) the activity area or areas in nursing
facilities and the nursing home portion of combination facilities shall not be
combined with the activity area or areas in the adult care home portion of
combination facilities.
(5) floor
space for physical, occupational, and rehabilitation therapy shall not be
included in the areas required by this Paragraph. Closets and storage units for
equipment and supplies shall not be included in the areas required by this
Paragraph.
(6) dining, activity,
and common use areas shall be designed and equipped to provide accessibility to
both patients and residents confined to wheelchairs and ambulatory patients or
residents.
(7) dining, activity,
and common use areas required by this Paragraph shall have windows with views
to the outdoors. The gross window area shall not be less than eight percent of
the required floor area required by Subparagraphs (1) and (2) of this
Paragraph.
(8) for facilities
designed with household units for 30 or fewer patients or residents, the dining
and activity areas may be combined.
(c) Outdoor areas for individual and group
activities shall be provided and shall be accessible to patients and residents
with physical disabilities. In the adult care portion of a combination
facility, a nursing unit with a control mechanism and staff procedures as
required by Rule.3404(f) of this Subchapter shall have direct access to an
outdoor area.
(d) Some means for
patients and residents to lock personal articles within the facility shall be
provided.
(e) A facility shall meet
the following requirements for toilet rooms, tubs, showers, and central bathing
areas:
(1) a toilet room shall contain a
toilet and lavatory. If a lavatory is provided in each bedroom, the toilet room
is not required to have a lavatory.
(2) a toilet room shall be accessible from
each bedroom without going through the general corridor.
(3) one toilet room may serve two bedrooms,
but not more than eight beds.
(4)
one tub or shower shall be provided for each 15 beds not individually served by
a tub or shower.
(5) for each 120
beds or fraction thereof, a central bathing area shall be provided with the
following:
(A) a bathtub or a manufactured
walk-in bathtub or a similar manufactured bathtub designed for easy transfer of
patients and residents into the tub. Bathtubs shall be accessible on three
sides. Manufactured walk-in bathtubs or a similar manufactured bathtubs shall
be accessible on two sides;
(B) a
roll-in shower designed and equipped for unobstructed ease of shower chair
entry and use. If a bathroom with a roll-in shower designed and equipped for
unobstructed ease of shower chair entry adjoins each bedroom in the facility,
the central bathing area is not required to have a roll-in shower;
(C) a toilet and lavatory; and
(D) a cubicle curtain enclosing the toilet,
tub, and shower. A closed cubicle curtain at one of these plumbing fixtures
shall not restrict access to the other plumbing fixtures.
(f) For each nursing unit, or
fraction thereof on each floor, the following shall be provided:
(1) a medication preparation area with:
(A) a counter;
(B) a double locked narcotic storage area
under the visual control of nursing staff;
(C) a medication refrigerator;
(D) eye-level medication storage;
(E) cabinet storage; and
(F) a sink. The sink shall be trimmed with
valves that can be operated without hands. If the sink is equipped with blade
handles, the blade handles shall not be less than four and one half inches in
length. The sink water spout shall be mounted so that its discharge point is a
minimum of 10 inches above the bottom of the sink basin;
(2) a clean utility room with:
(A) a counter;
(B) storage; and
(C) a sink. The sink shall be trimmed with
valves that can be operated without hands. If the sink is equipped with blade
handles, the blade handles shall not be less than four and one half inches in
length. The sink water spout shall be mounted so that its discharge point is a
minimum of 10 inches above the bottom of the sink basin;
(3) a soiled utility room with:
(A) a counter;
(B) storage; and
(C) a sink. The sink shall be trimmed with
valves that can be operated without hands. If the sink is equipped with blade
handles, the blade handles shall not be less than four and one half inches in
length. The sink water spout shall be mounted so that its discharge point is a
minimum of 10 inches above the bottom of the sink basin. The soiled utility
room shall be equipped for the cleaning and sanitizing of bedpans as required
by 15A
NCAC 18A.1312 Toilet: Handwashing: Laundry:
And Bathing Facilities;
(4) a nurses' toilet and locker space for
personal belongings;
(5) a soiled
linen storage room. If the soiled linen storage room is combined with the
soiled utility room, a separate soiled linen storage room is not
required;
(6) clean linen storage
provided in one or more of the following:
(A)
a separate linen storage room;
(B)
cabinets in the clean utility room; or
(C) a linen closet;
(7) a nourishment station in an area enclosed
with walls and doors with:
(A) work
space;
(B) cabinets;
(C) refrigerated storage; and
(D) a small stove, microwave, or hot
plate;
(8) an
audio-visual nurse-patient call system arranged to ensure that a patient's or
resident's call in the facility notifies and directs staff to the location
where the call was activated;
(9) a
control point located no more than 150 feet from the furthest patient or
resident bedroom door with:
(A) an area for
charting patient and resident records;
(B) space for storage of emergency equipment
and supplies; and
(C) nurse patient
call and alarm annunciation systems; and
(10) a janitor's closet.
(g) If a facility is designed with patient or
resident household units, a patient and resident dietary area located within
the patient or resident household unit may substitute for the nourishment
station. The patient or resident dietary area shall be for the use of staff,
patients, residents, and families. The patient or resident dietary area shall
contain:
(1) cooking equipment;
(2) a kitchen sink;
(3) refrigerated storage; and
(4) storage areas.
(h) Clean linen storage shall be provided in
a separate room from bulk supplies.
(i) The kitchen area and laundry area each
shall have a janitor's closet. Administration, occupational and physical
therapy, recreation, personal care, and employee areas shall be provided
janitor's closets and may share one as a group.
(j) Stretcher and wheelchair storage shall be
provided.
(k) The facility shall
provide patient and resident storage at the rate of not less than five square
feet of floor area per licensed bed. This storage space shall:
(1) be used by patients and residents to
store out-of-season clothing and suitcases;
(2) be either in the facility or within 500
feet of the facility on the same site; and
(3) be in addition to the other storage space
required by this Rule.
(l) Office space shall be provided for
business transactions. Office space shall be provided for persons holding the
following positions:
(1)
administrator;
(2) director of
nursing;
(3) social services
director;
(4) activities director;
and
(5) physical
therapist.
(m) Each
combination facility shall provide a minimum of one residential washer and
residential dryer in a location accessible by adult care home staff, residents,
and residents' families.
Authority
G.S.
131E-104;
42 CFR
483.70;
Eff. January 1,
1996;
Amended Eff. August 1, 2014; October 1, 2008;
Readopted Eff. July 1, 2016;
Amended Eff. October 1,
2016.
