59A-4.133. Physical Plant Codes and Standards for Nursing Homes

(1) All construction of new nursing homes and all additions, alterations, refurbishing, renovations to and reconstruction of existing nursing homes shall be in compliance with the following codes and standards:

(a) The Florida Building Code (FBC) as adopted by the Florida Building Commission and incorporated by reference and obtainable from the International Code Council at www.iccsafe.org.

(b) The fire codes as adopted by the State Fire Marshall and described in Chapters 69A-53 and 69A-60, F.A.C., and incorporated herein by reference and obtainable from the National Fire Protection Association, 1 Batterymarch Park, P.O. Box 9101, Quincy, Massachusetts 02269-9101.

(2) No building shall be converted to a licensed nursing home unless it complies with the standards and codes set forth herein and with licensure requirements set forth in Chapter 400, Part II, F.S. and Chapter 59A-4, F.A.C.

(3) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 101A: Guide on Alternative approaches to Life Safety shall not be used to meet the required codes and standards for new construction or for conversion of newly licensed nursing homes.

(4) Where additions, modifications, alterations, refurbishing, renovations or reconstruction are undertaken within an existing facility, all such additions, modifications, alterations, refurbishing, renovations or reconstruction must comply with applicable sections of the codes for new facilities. Only that portion of the total facility affected by the project must comply with applicable sections of the referenced codes for new construction. Where existing major structural elements make total compliance impractical or impossible, the licensee or applicant for licensure may submit a request to the Office of Plans and Construction to utilize alternate materials, designs or methods which meet the intent of code provisions as permitted by the Florida Building Code.

(5) A licensed nursing home and any portion of a licensed nursing home that was reviewed and approved by the Agency for Health Care Administration prior to March 1, 2002, must be maintained in compliance with the requirements of this rule and the requirements of the NFPA 101 Life Safety code for Existing Health Care Occupancy, incorporated in Rule 69A-3.012, F.A.C., and the requirements of Tables I, II and III, effective March 1, 2002, which is incorporated by reference and available at http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-06174 or at the web address at http://ahca.myflorida.com/plansandconstruction. The requirements in Table I identified by an asterisk do not apply.

(6) A licensed nursing home, and any portion of a licensed nursing home, that was reviewed and approved by the Agency for Health Care Administration after March 1, 2002, must be maintained in compliance with the requirements of the NFPA 101 Life Safety code for Existing Health Care Occupancies and the design requirements for Nursing Homes of the Florida Building Code in effect at the date of initial licensure.

(7) When a building or portion of a building is converted to a new licensed nursing home, it shall be in compliance with the requirements for a new nursing home set forth in subsection 59A-4.133(1), F.A.C. A change of ownership shall not constitute a change of occupancy.

(8) Other facilities or providers not owned or operated by the licensee of a nursing home may be fully integrated with the nursing home’s physical plant only after it has been successfully demonstrated to the Agency that all areas of the facility’s physical plant are designed and maintained in a manner that will ensure continued licensure compliance of the nursing home.

(9) All hazards to life and safety and all areas of noncompliance with applicable codes and regulations must be corrected in accordance with a plan of correction approved in advance by the Agency’s Office of Plans and Construction. Facility plans of correction will be approved only when the plan corrects all deficiencies or provides acceptable alternate systems, methods, or devises that provide equivalent or superior quality, strength, fire resistance, effectiveness, durability and safety as the requirements prescribed by code.

(10) Projects that have not received at least a Stage II Preliminary Plan approval from the Office of Plans and Construction by October 31, 2015, must conform to the requirements set forth in these rules.

Rulemaking Authority 400.23 FS. Law Implemented 400.23, 400.232 FS. History–New 4-1-82, Amended 4-1-84, 4-29-92, Formerly 10D-29.120, 59A-4.120, Amended 2-6-97, 10-21-99, 12-21-15.