10A NCAC 70K .0308       BEDROOMS

(a)  There shall be bedrooms sufficient in number and size to meet the individual needs of the maternity home residents (residents include mothers and their children), the live-in staff and their children or relative children residing in the home. Residents shall not share bedrooms with staff or the staff's' children or relative children.

(b)  Only rooms authorized by the Division of Health Service Regulation, Construction Section by plan review or field inspection, shall be used for bedrooms.

(c)  A room where access is through a bathroom, kitchen or another bedroom shall not be approved for a resident's bedroom.

(d)  There shall be a minimum area of 100 square feet, excluding vestibule, closet or wardrobe space, in rooms occupied by one mother and a minimum area of 80 square feet per bed, excluding vestibule, closet or wardrobe space, in rooms occupied by two mothers. There shall be additional square footage of 40 square feet for each infant and toddler, 60 square feet for each pre-school aged child and 80 square feet for each school aged child.

(e)  The total number of residents assigned to a bedroom shall not exceed the number authorized by the Division of Health Service Regulation, Construction Section, by plan review or field inspection, for that particular bedroom.

(f)  A bedroom shall not be occupied by more than two mothers along with any children or infants of those mothers.

(g)  Each resident bedroom shall have one or more operable windows and be lighted to provide 30 foot candles of light at floor level.  The window area shall be equivalent to at least eight percent of the floor space.  The windows shall have a maximum of 44 inch sill height.  Each bedroom shall be provided with a window that meets the North Carolina State Building Code for emergency egress.  These windows shall be openable without the use of keys or tools. 

(h)  Bedroom closets or wardrobes shall be large enough to provide each mother with a minimum of 48 cubic feet of separate clothing storage space (approximately two feet deep by three feet wide by eight feet high) of which at least one-half shall be for hanging clothes with an adjustable height hanging bar.  Additional closet or wardrobe space shall be provided for the children of mothers at the rate of 10 cubic feet per child.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 131D‑1; 143B‑153;

Eff. October 1, 2008;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. April 5, 2016.