|
What To
Know Before You Build
Key Info
From DOH-CRS
On
July 21st of this year, the Washington State Department
of Health revised the regulations for hospital
construction. It also adopted the 2006 edition of the
“Guidelines for the Design and Construction of Health
Care Facilities” published by the American Institute of
Architects.
The nationally recognized
guidelines have been adopted in 45 other states. They
align the department with current industry practice. Our
design standards are now up to date. The guidelines
acknowledge many different approaches to health care
delivery. This is the primary tool that Construction
Review Services (CRS) will use to review functional and
construction changes within a hospital.
The department has made
several other changes to streamline the process. These
clarify rules for construction projects and make other
improvements to the rules.
State law on Management of
Environment has long governed the department’s periodic
surveys (WAC 246-320-405). The department revised this
section on required ongoing maintenance. Retroactive
requirements, such as the installation of tamper
resistant receptacles in waiting and pediatric areas,
have been removed. These and other issues are covered
during new construction.
The department now requires
a pre-submission conference for all projects with a
construction cost of over $250,000. Pre-submission
conferences reduce the plan review time dramatically.
During the pre-submission conference, CRS will focus on
“big picture” issues, common errors, and omissions.
These include:
-
Life and fire
safety concerns within the building
-
Infection control issues
during construction that could impact patient safety
-
Deficiencies in room
sizes or arrangement
-
Incomplete functional
program
-
Problems with the
building exiting system
-
Conditions for
participation in Medicare
-
Mechanical and
electrical infrastructure
Citations on these issues can cause you costly and
substantial changes. Getting this information in the
hands of your design team early in the design process
can save you time and money.
You can satisfy this
requirement by scheduling a meeting in our offices in
Tumwater, WA. You can also teleconference with us or
simply invite CRS staff to your ongoing design meetings.
CRS has partnered with the Washington State Society of
Hospital Engineers to provide pre-submission conferences
during its business meetings in April, September, and
December. The meetings are held on the eastern side of
the state. These are typically in Chelan, Yakima,
Spokane, or the Tri-Cities area.
The department clarified
what must be reviewed before construction begins. At the
preliminary conference, the design team must provide:
-
Functional program
detailing the use of the new area
-
Interim life safety
measures for facilities being renovated
-
Infection Control Risk
Assessment describing impact of renovation on
adjacent patient areas
-
Documentation that the
parties understand the risk in proceeding with
construction before the department has issued final
approval
Once these items are covered, the facility may begin
construction. The local building department also
requires that a building permit be obtained before any
work is done.
The department now requires
that hospitals submit construction documents to CRS
within 10 days of submission to the local building
department. CRS has been working with the local building
officials to perform a more collaborative review. This
often eases the plan review process for both state and
local agencies. Questions that arise during plan review
can be coordinated between jurisdictions.
Interpretations can be made jointly. This offers new
efficiency. This level of cooperation cannot occur
unless both jurisdictions have information at the same
time.
Watch the CRS Web site at
www.doh.wa.gov/crs
for more information on applying the new rules in the
months to come. You may also contact the program for
more information at
dohfslcrs@doh.wa.gov.
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