WAC 388-110-140   Assisted living services facility structural requirements.  (1) In a boarding home with an assisted living services contract, the contractor must ensure each resident has a private apartment-like unit meeting the requirements of a type 'B' dwelling unit as defined by the International Code Council A117.1 as adopted by the Washington State Building Code Council. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, each unit must have at least the following:

     (a) A minimum area of one hundred eighty square feet in an existing boarding home, and two hundred twenty square feet in a new boarding home. The minimum area may include counters, closets and built-ins, but must exclude the bathroom;

     (b) A separate private bathroom, which includes a sink, toilet, and a shower or bathtub. In a new boarding home, the contractor must provide a minimum of one wheelchair accessible bathroom with a roll-in shower that is at least forty-eight inches by thirty inches for every two residents whose care is partially or fully funded by the department through the assisted living contract;

     (c) A lockable entry door;

     (d) A kitchen area equipped with a refrigerator, a microwave oven or stovetop, and a counter or table for food preparation. In a new boarding home, the kitchen area must also be equipped with a storage space for utensils and supplies, and a counter surface, a minimum of thirty inches wide by twenty-four inches in depth, a maximum height of thirty-four inches, and a knee space beneath at least twenty-seven inches in height; and

     (e) A living area wired for telephone and, where available in the geographic location, wired for television service.

     (2)(a) For purposes of this section, a new boarding home is:

     (i) A new building to be used as a boarding home or part of a boarding home, for which plans are submitted to the department of health for construction review on or after June 8, 1996; or

     (ii) An addition, modification, or alteration to an existing licensed boarding home, for which plans are submitted to the department of health for construction review on or after June 8, 1996.

     (A) The department may, in consultation with the office of construction review services in the department of health, exempt from selected new boarding home contract construction requirements, a limited addition, modification, or alteration to an existing licensed boarding home that will improve the quality of life for residents, if compliance with all new boarding home contract construction requirements would otherwise make the limited addition, modification, or alteration cost prohibitive. A limited addition, modification, or alteration means any physical change to an existing licensed boarding home that does not affect the structural integrity of the building, does not affect fire and life safety, and does not increase the boarding home's maximum facility capacity as defined in WAC 388-78A-2020.

     (B) A major addition, modification, or alteration to an existing licensed boarding home must meet new boarding home contract construction requirements for applicable portions of the building. A major addition, modification, or alteration means any physical change within a room or area in an existing licensed boarding home that results in reconstruction to structural or other building systems.

     (b) All boarding homes that are not new boarding homes under subsection (2)(a) of this section, are existing boarding homes. An existing building, or portion thereof, that is converted to boarding home use must be considered an existing boarding home unless there is an addition, modification or alteration to the existing building.

     (3) If a boarding home submitted plans to the department of health for construction review on or after June 8, 1996, and the boarding home had an assisted living contract as of September 1, 2004, then the boarding home is "grandfathered" under the contracting rules for structural requirements that were in effect at the time of contracting and is considered to meet the assisted living structural requirements of subsection (1) of this section. However, if the same boarding home submits plans to the department of health for construction review for an addition, modification or alteration of the boarding home after September 1, 2004, then the boarding home must meet the current new boarding home requirements of subsection (1) for the applicable portions of the building.

     (4) Married couples may share an apartment-like unit under an assisted living contract if:

     (a) Both residents understand they are each entitled to live in a separate private unit; and

     (b) Both residents mutually request to share a single apartment-like unit.

     (5) In a new boarding home, the contractor must provide a private accessible mailbox in which the resident may receive mail.

     (6) The contractor must provide homelike smoke-free common areas with sufficient space for socialization designed to meet resident needs. Common areas must be available for resident use at any time provided such use does not disturb the health or safety of other residents. The contractor must make access to outdoor areas available to all residents.

     (7) The contractor must provide a space for residents to meet with family and friends outside the resident's living unit.

     (8) The department may grant an exemption to the requirements of this section as they apply to a specified resident when it is in the best interest of the specific resident.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.39A.010, 74.39A.020, 74.39A.060, 74.39A.070, and chapter 74.39A RCW. 04-16-063 and 04-18-001, § 388-110-140, filed 7/30/04 and 8/19/04, effective 9/19/04. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.39A.010, 74.39A.020, 74.39A.060, 74.39A.080, 74.39A.170, 18.88A.210-[18.88A.]240 and70.129.040 . 96-11-045 (Order 3979), § 388-110-140, filed 5/8/96, effective 6/8/96.]