I didn't know they changed 517.40 in 2017 NEC so was reading through it today. Part A threw me for a loop because it was changed to read "the requirements of 517.40(C) through 517.41, shall apply to nursing homes and limited care facilities". 2014 read "through 517.44". With the new language they are actually excluding the parts that matter most, 517.42, .43, .44. Seems like a simple typo. The same issue in the Exception to part (A).
This is a confusing part of 517 anyway, but the new language seems to have made it worse. Also not sure why they renamed the nursing home critical branch to equipment branch.
Has this already been caught elsewhere by committee members?
I think the commentary in the NFPA 2017 Handbook says it best ( or better than I can convey it)
"For the smaller, less complex facility, only a minimum alternate lightingand alarm service needs to be furnished.
At nursing homes or limited
care facilities where patients are sustained by electrical life-support
equipment or inpatient hospital care is provided, the requirements of
517.41 through 517.44 apply. Because the level of care is comparable to
that provided in a hospital, an essential electrical system is required for
this type of nursing home."
Under the heading it says "Type 2 Essential Electrical System..." which is slightly less stringent under NFPA 99 ( to which NFPA 70 is subordinate to) than normal Essential Electrical System we see in hospitals and so on as expressed in 517.41 and so on. There clearly was more work being presented with regards to aligning NFPA 99 with NFPA 70.
Also here is some additional commentary as well that some may find helpful...it is after 517.40(B)...
"Regardless of how the facility is designated,
the type of electrical system
required corresponds with the level of patient care provided. If inpatient
care requires the use of life support equipment, a hospital-type essential
electrical system must be installed. The type of care that can be provided
at a nursing home or limited care facility is generally controlled through
the administrative agency that licenses and regulates the facility."
