Nursing Home Design Guide
2006
floor may exit on grade. Multi-story
conversations from being overheard.
buildings must consider planning for
Planning of staff stations, reception
horizontal evacuation to a safe area of
desks, conference rooms, offices,
refuge. This includes:
treatment and therapy rooms, where
exposed private records may be seen
and conversations overheard by
Planning the facility so that each
floor is divided into at least two
unauthorized persons, should also
consider privacy during design
compartments separated by a rated
firewall. The firewall extends
throughout the full height of the
2.1.6
Life Safety
building.
Openings in this firewall are strictly
Successful strategies have long been
limited to ducts equipped with
available for making a sprinkler system
inconspicuous. However, in new
automatic fire dampers and
horizontal exits across corridors.
construction, achieving "homelike"
residential environments remains a
Doors opening in opposite directions
significant challenge when attempting to
in egress corridors are
incorporate fire safety and egress
recommended so that occupants in
provisions required for Nursing Home
either smoke compartment may
occupancies under contemporary
safely exit to an area of refuge on
codes.
the other side of that wall.
A fully sprinklered building where
Nursing Home life safety issues that
each smoke compartment has at
require attention include evacuation
least two other means of egress.
standards and disaster planning.
An area of refuge on each side of
Among them are the following:
the firewall sized to accommodate
the entire adjacent zone population
that could be present on the other
1. Evacuation Standards
Eighty percent of Nursing Home
side of the barrier.
residents may suffer from some degree
of dementia. Those who may be so
Elopement of dementia residents
afflicted can become frightened and
whether deliberate or accidental, can
confused if awakened by an evacuation
threaten the resident's health and
alarm in the middle of the night. Given
safety, and represents risk for any
the limited staff that may be available to
Nursing Home. Suburban and rural
assist residents on some shifts, vertical
sites may present opportunities for
evacuation from even one floor above
keeping such a resident safely
grade may simply not be practical.
contained within a controlled perimeter
Many people prefer to depend upon
such as a wandering garden. An urban
horizontal Nursing Home evacuation
site and many suburban sites may not
plans.
offer such an opportunity. Many
Nursing Homes prefer to restrict travel
For some Nursing Home administrators,
out of a dementia unit by using a
this means building only single story
delayed egress locking system. Such
Nursing Homes, or perhaps a two-story
systems will typically open immediately
building built on a hillside in which each
in response to a staff member having a
Office of Facilities Management
2-4
Previous Page
