This regulation requires that every sleeping/resident room in a long-term care facility have at least one outside window or outside door, with a maximum sill height of 36 inches above the floor for buildings constructed or certified after July 5, 2016. The requirement supports residents' orientation to day/night cycles and weather, and contributes to a homelike, non-institutional environment. Surveyors must verify the presence of a qualifying outside window and, where applicable, confirm the sill height does not exceed 36 inches.
View official sourceF915 (Rev. 173, Issued: 11-22-17, Effective: 11-28-17, Implementation: 11-28-17) §483.90(a)(7) Buildings must have an outside window or outside door in every sleeping room, and for any building constructed after July 5, 2016 the sill height must not exceed 36 inches above the floor. Windows in atrium walls are considered outside windows for the purposes of this requirement. §483.90(e)(1)(vi) - Resident Rooms Bedrooms must -- §483.90(e)(1)(vi) - Have at least one window to the outside; and GUIDANCE: §483.90(a)(7) and §483.90(e)(1)(vi) Every resident/patient sleeping room shall have an outside window. A facility with resident room windows, as defined by K381, or that open to an outside atrium such as a courtyard in accordance with Life Safety Code, can meet this requirement for a window to the outside. Windows facing an interior atrium, skylights, etc., do not meet this requirement. In addition to conforming to the Life Safety Code, this requirement was included to assist the resident’s orientation to day and night, weather, and general awareness of space outside the facility. The facility is required to provide for a “safe, clean, comfortable and homelike environment” by deemphasizing the institutional character of the setting, to the extent possible. Windows are an important aspect in assuring the homelike environment of a facility. In buildings constructed after July 5, 2016 or for facilities certified after July 5, 2016, the maximum allowable sill height is 36 inches above the floor. The window may be operable. PROBES: §483.90(a)(7) and §483.90(e)(1)(vi) Is there at least one window to the outside? If the building was constructed or certified as a provider after July 5, 2016, confirm the outside window sill is 36 inches or less above the floor.