36 CFR Parts 1190 and 1191 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines - Preamble (Discussion of Comments and Changes)

Section 223.2 addresses scoping for hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, psychiatric facilities, and detoxification facilities. The Board has clarified the distinction made in scoping between facilities that specialize in the treatment of conditions affecting mobility (100%) and those that do not (10%), including rehabilitation facilities.

Comment. The Board sought comment on how dispersion of accessible sleeping rooms can be effectively achieved and maintained in medical care facilities such as hospitals and long-term care facilities (Question 13). Commenters with disabilities supported a requirement for dispersion of accessible sleeping rooms among all types of medical specialty areas, such as obstetrics, orthopedics, pediatrics, and cardiac care. Conversely, commenters representing the health care industry pointed out that treatment areas in health care facilities can be very fluid due to fluctuation in the population and other demographic and medical funding trends. Comments indicated that in long-term care facilities, access is provided at rooms that are less desirable than others available in the facility. Commenters recommended that the final rule should include a requirement that ensures that accessibility is fairly dispersed among different types of rooms in long-term care facilities.

Response. The Board has not added a requirement for dispersion in medical care facilities because compliance over the life-time of the facility could prove difficult given the need for flexibility of spaces within such facilities. However, an advisory note has been added to encourage dispersion of accessible rooms within the facility so that accessible rooms are more likely to be proximate to appropriate qualified staff and resources. Since these considerations are not as relevant to long-term care facilities, the Board has added a requirement that the 50% scoping requirement for long-term care facilities be applied to "each type" of resident sleeping room provided to ensure dispersion among all types (223.3).