2019 California Standards for Accessible Design Guide (effective January 1, 2020 with July 1, 2021 amendments)

ETA Editor's Note

The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD), which has jurisdiction over hospitals and long-term care facilities in California, issued Code Application Notice CAN 2-11B, dated 9/9/14, which includes the following interpretation of Subsections 11B-805.4.1, 11B-805.4.2 and 11B-805.4.3:

All patient care areas must provide access to the area and to the bed, exam table, procedure table, gurney, lounge chair and/or equipment/apparatus associated with the delivery of care, exam, diagnosis or treatment performed in the space. Access includes compliance with Division 4 of Chapter 11B for travel to, and circulation within, the patient care area; and turning space in compliance with Section 11B-304. A minimum of a 36-inch wide access shall be provided to and along each side of the bed, exam table, procedure table, gurney, lounge chair and/or equipment/apparatus. "Each side" includes both sides and the foot, but does not include the head unless the provision of care requires it. Refer to the following examples:

Exam room - Exam rooms are required to provide a turning space, accessible handwashing fixture, and 36-inch wide access along the full length of each side and the foot of the exam table.  The exception is in reference to general exam rooms only. These are restricted to those meeting the definition of exam room in CBC Section 1224.3. Specific exam rooms required to be larger than 80 square feet are not considered "general exam rooms" and are not eligible for the exception.

Treatment room - Treatment rooms are required to provide a turning space, accessible handwashing fixture, accessible counter and writing surface, and 36-inch wide access along the full length of each side and foot of the treatment table. If the treatment room is intended to accommodate procedures requiring access to the head (e.g. minor surgery, etc.), all four sides of the table require 36-inch wide access.

Equipment - Exam or treatment rooms with equipment such as imaging must provide a turning space, accessible handwashing fixture if required, and 36-inch wide access to both sides and the foot of the table. The head of the equipment does not require 36-inch access if only used for servicing.

CBC Chapter 12, Section 1224 applies to hospitals, and 1224.3, referenced above, includes the following definition: EXAM ROOM. A room with a bed, stretcher, or examination table and capability for periodic monitoring (e.g., measurement of blood pressure or pulse oximetry) in which procedures that do not require a specialized suite can be performed (e.g., pelvic examination, blood transfusion).

OSHPD has not yet made it clear which, if any, movable items are allowed within the required 36-inch wide access.

As of the initial publication of this Guide, OSHPD has not updated CAN 2-11B for applicability to 2019 CBC. Since there is no change to the wording of Subsections 11B-805.4.1, 11B-805.4.2 and 11B-805.4.3 from 2013 CBC to 2019 CBC, there is no reason to expect that OSHPD will change its interpretation.

ETA Editor's Note

The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD), which has jurisdiction over hospitals and long-term care facilities in California, issued Code Application Notice CAN 2-11B, dated 9/9/14, which includes the following interpretation of Section 11B-805.6:

The requirements of Section 11B-606 apply to all lavatories, sinks, and handwashing fixtures for public use, patient use, and employee use, unless otherwise specifically exempted by the code. Lavatories, sinks, and handwashing fixtures are common use areas and therefore, require accessibility.

Exceptions:

• Scrub sinks (due to impracticality)
• Specific workstations (see Section 11B-203.9). This applies only where the sink is the actual workstation.

Example: A sink used exclusively for cleaning endoscopes. The sink is the actual area where work is performed as opposed to a place where the employee cleans up before and after performing work elsewhere in the room.

Knee clearance requirement - All accessibility requirements of Section 11B-606 apply to lavatories, sinks and handwashing fixtures required to be accessible. Lavatories are subject to Section 11B-306.3.3, Exception 1 which states: "At lavatories required to be accessible by Section 11B-213.3.4, the knee clearance shall be 27 inches (686 mm) high minimum above the finish floor or ground at a depth of 8 inches (203 mm) minimum increasing to 29 inches (737 mm) high minimum above the finish floor or ground at the front edge of a counter with a built-in lavatory or at the front edge of a wall-mounted lavatory fixture."

This requirement applies to all lavatories. "Handwashing fixtures" are special application "sinks" and not subject to the exception. Handwashing fixtures, as sinks, are subject to Section 11B-306.2.3, Exception 1 which states" "The toe clearance shall extend 19 inches minimum under sinks required to be accessible by Section 11B-212.3."

Consequently, handwashing fixtures must have a minimum depth of 19 inches in order to comply with the minimum toe clearance. They shall also have a minimum knee clearance of 27 inches at the depth and reduction described in Sections 11B-306.3.3 and 11B-306.3.4.

The implications of this interpretation are that a wall-mounted china fixture of the most common size, nominally 20 inches wide x 18 inch projection, cannot serve as a handwashing fixture. See also the ETA Editor's Note at 11B-212.3.

As of the initial publication of this Guide, OSHPD has not updated CAN 2-11B for applicability to 2019 CBC. Since there is no change to the wording of Section 11B-805.6 from 2013 CBC to 2019 CBC, there is no reason to expect that OSHPD will change its interpretation.