Nursing Home / Art 517

[shockin]

Does a nursing home fall under 517 as it relates to wiring methods? 517.10(B) seems to say it doesn't.

In my limited experiance with nursing homes it seems to be pretty common to have a doctor make rounds weekly and examin the patients. I guess duing that instance they become exam rooms?

In some cases there is heart monitoring equipment, breathing equipment (you might call it life support) ect which seems to me to be a patient care area.

Thanks for the help!

 

[ncwirenut]

Typically questions in 517 doesn't get a lot of replies. What we call common areas do not have to follow 517, offices, storage rooms, corridors and such. Resident rooms, med prep, therapy, dining, and rooms that residents gather in do have to meet 517. Now some will debate some of the rooms that I mentioned, but in NC that is how it is interpreted by most State Inspectors. Nursing homes have a special section for the essential electrical system, if the essential electrical system is under 150 kva you only have to use one transfer switch. Article 700 also applies and has some additional requirements.

 

[joebell]

I would say it depends on the room set up. Is this an existing nursing home? If so see if any of the rules found in 517 are already in place, ie redundant grounding number and source of receptacle circuits. If the equipment that you listed in your OP are in use I would think that this installation would need to follow article 517.

I worked on a nursing home project about 15 years ago. It consisted of a 2 story building that contained patient rooms and administrative offices.The second building was an assited living setting and aside from nurse call equipment these were basically apartments. The building with patient rooms were wired to comply with the rules in art 517 where applicable. There was also a lot of reference to NFPA-99 & 101 during constuction.

 

[stevebea]

Does a nursing home fall under 517 as it relates to wiring methods? 517.10(B) seems to say it doesn't.

In my limited experiance with nursing homes it seems to be pretty common to have a doctor make rounds weekly and examin the patients. I guess duing that instance they become exam rooms?

In some cases there is heart monitoring equipment, breathing equipment (you might call it life support) ect which seems to me to be a patient care area.

Thanks for the help!

I personally have never seen any kind of monitoring equipment in a nursing home here in PA. Breathing equipment here consists of oxygen and nebulizer treatments and most residents are transported to the doctor's office to be seen. All the nursing homes I have worked in would not comply with Article 517.

 

[stevebea]

Also, there are two different levels of nursing care in nursing homes. Skilled care which falls under the Dept. of Health and Assisted living which falls under the Dept. of Public Welfare. My wife is the administrator at an assisted living nursing home and they don't have an essential electrical system, but if they lose power for more than 8 hours the DPW says they have to move residents to another facility.

 

[steve66]

Does a nursing home fall under 517 as it relates to wiring methods? 517.10(B) seems to say it doesn't.

In my limited experiance with nursing homes it seems to be pretty common to have a doctor make rounds weekly and examin the patients. I guess duing that instance they become exam rooms?

In some cases there is heart monitoring equipment, breathing equipment (you might call it life support) ect which seems to me to be a patient care area.

Thanks for the help!

517.10(B) says it doesn't apply if the rooms are designated as only sleeping rooms.

It would be up to the facility to decide if that applies. As Stevebea mentioned, it would depend on the level of care provided. If patients in these rooms recieve medical care, 517 would apply.

Steve

 

[kwired]

517.10(B) says it doesn't apply if the rooms are designated as only sleeping rooms.

It would be up to the facility to decide if that applies. As Stevebea mentioned, it would depend on the level of care provided. If patients in these rooms recieve medical care, 517 would apply.

Steve

I agree with this.

Most nursing homes I have been around the resident rooms are just sleeping rooms and are wired based on ch 1 - 4 only.

They may have limited number of rooms for critical care purposes and these are wired according to 517. At same time these rooms are usually intended for emergency care for the most part. If a resident needs a considerable amount of care that the nursing home generally does not provide, they are transferred to a hospital. They call the people under care residents because that is what they are. They are not patients. Most of the care is care that could be provided in a home, but it is not always easy to find people that can provide services needed and be cost effective if only caring for one person.

 

[ncwirenut]

I think that some are using nursing homes in a broad manner. Look at the definition under 517 for nursing homes. There is a difference in assisted living centers, home for the aged, nursing homes and all are under different codes. If it is a nursing home/skilled nursing facility, then 517 applies.

 

[kwired]

I think that some are using nursing homes in a broad manner. Look at the definition under 517 for nursing homes. There is a difference in assisted living centers, home for the aged, nursing homes and all are under different codes. If it is a nursing home/skilled nursing facility, then 517 applies.

You can have a facility with both basic nursing home care as well as more advanced care. The basic areas only need to comply with ch 1-4. If all rooms are used for basic care but are also equipped and used for more advanced care then they are 517 areas. There will be other codes besides electrical that will need to be met if a room is to be a patient room vs a sleeping room, so it should not be too questionable as to whether it is a patient room or a sleeping room.