Nursing Home Design Guide
2006
Integrate personal care
3.2
Resident Toilets and
Streamline time management
Showers
Reduce the fears and discomforts
commonly experienced in communal
3.2.1 General
bathing
The VA Nursing Home Design Guide
It is recommended that 95% of the
recommends a resident bedroom that
resident bedroom bathrooms are
has a full toilet room including a
consistent with the criteria outlined in
functionally accessible shower. The
this Nursing Home Design Guide and
term "Resident Toilet Room," in this
5% should address self-transfer as
Design Guide refers to the space
outlined in ADAAG. Functional design
adjacent to and accessed from a
and safe, assisted toileting should be
resident bedroom. These criteria also
available for toilet rooms adjacent to
apply to individual toilet rooms that are
resident bedrooms and those used
designed without showers for use by
during dining, therapy, activity, or
residents elsewhere in the building (i.e.,
bathing.
those near dining, activity and therapy
areas and in bathing suites).
1. Assisted Bathrooms
The bathroom configuration criteria has
3.2.2 Planning Considerations
been developed to better address
assisted transfer and lifts to benefit
Resident toilet rooms for Nursing
residents and contribute to staff safety.
Homes require:
For Nursing Homes, functionally
accessible bathrooms accommodate a
Adequate lift use and transfer space
resident, a device such as a
requirements
wheelchair/lift, and staff members for
A 5'-6" [1676 mm] diameter turning
safe transfer.
radius
Adequate space necessary for staff
2. Statistics on Toilet Assistance
assistance on two sides of the toilet
National data indicate that 76% of all
The provision for fold-up grab rails
Nursing Home residents have limitations
Adequate bathroom entrance width
affecting their independence in toileting;
24% toilet independently. In general,
These improvements are suggestions to
50-58% of Nursing Home residents are
address central issues in resident
incontinent.
needs, Nursing Home care, safety, and
operations. The resultant generates a
Additional data showed that about 71%
room that may be at least 60 nsf [5.57
of Nursing Home residents have
m] in area without a shower.
difficulties related to transfer. Typically,
1-2 staff members assist 39-42% of
In addition to these issues, the intent is
residents. About 29% are fully
to encourage the inclusion of an
dependent during transfer.
individual shower in each resident
bedroom. The rationale for including a
shower is to:
Office of Facilities Management
3-9
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