Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.

     Purpose: The department is adopting the following rule to WAC 388-110-140.

     The purpose of this rule is to:

•	Include kitchen sink requirements for assisted living resident units in boarding homes;
•	Clarify rule language; and
•	Delete unnecessary or redundant language.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-110-140.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 74.39A RCW.

     Other Authority: Chapter 18.20 RCW.

      Adopted under notice filed as WSR 09-14-077 on June 29, 2009.

     Changes Other than Editing from Proposed to Adopted Version: Clarified roll-in shower dimensions for newly contracted assisted living services to be consistent with licensed boarding home roll-in shower requirements.

     A final cost-benefit analysis is available by contacting Judy Johnson, P.O. Box 45600, Olympia, WA 98504-5600, phone (360) 725-2591, fax (360) 438-7903, e-mail johnsjm1@dshs.wa.gov.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

     Date Adopted: September 10, 2009.

Susan N. Dreyfus

Secretary

     (2) 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)). The private bathroom must be equipped with a sink, a toilet, and a shower or bathtub. ((In a new boarding home, the contractor must provide a minimum of)) At least one wheelchair accessible bathroom with a roll-in shower that is at least forty-eight inches by thirty-six inches must be provided 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. The kitchen area must be equipped with:

     (i) A refrigerator((,));

     (ii) A microwave oven, range or ((stovetop, and a counter or table for food preparation. In a new boarding home, the kitchen area must also be equipped with)) cooktop;

     (iii) A counter mounted kitchen sink, with inside dimensions of at least twenty-one inches by fifteen inches, and a minimum depth of seven inches;

     (iv) A storage space for utensils and supplies((,)); and

     (v) A work counter surface, with a minimum usable surface area of thirty inches ((wide)) in length by twenty-four inches ((in depth)) deep, a maximum height of thirty-four inches, ((and a)) and having a clear knee space beneath at least twenty-seven inches in height and thirty inches in length; 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))) (3) 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))) (4) ((In a new boarding home,)) The contractor must provide a private accessible mailbox ((in which the resident may receive mail)) for each resident whose care is partially or fully funded through the assisted living contract.

     (((6))) (5) 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))) (6) The contractor must provide a space for residents to meet with family and friends outside the resident's living unit.

     (((8))) (7) 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)) in accordance with WAC 388-78A-2820.

[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 and 70.129.040. 96-11-045 (Order 3979), § 388-110-140, filed 5/8/96, effective 6/8/96.]

     Reviser's note: RCW 34.05.395 requires the use of underlining and deletion marks to indicate amendments to existing rules. The rule published above varies from its predecessor in certain respects not indicated by the use of these markings.

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