December 12, 2001—The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Facilities Guidelines Institute have published the 2001 edition of the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospital and Health Care Facilities, considered the industry standard by architects, engineers, and health care professionals. The publication sets minimum program, space, and equipment needs for clinical and support areas of hospitals, nursing homes, freestanding psychiatric facilities, outpatient and rehabilitation facilities, and long-term care facilities. The document also establishes minimum engineering design criteria for plumbing, medical gas, electrical, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems.
Reflecting the most current thinking about infection control and the environment of care, the 2001 edition also explores functional, space, and equipment requirements for acute care and psychiatric hospitals; nursing, outpatient, and rehabilitation facilities; mobile health care units; and facilities for hospice care, adult day care, and assisted living.
Major changes include: appendix changed for faster reference; glossary and index added; new chapters added: “Adult Day Care Facilities” and “Assisted Living;” and expanded content: “Hospice Care.” Although published before the terrorist attacks of September 11th, the 2001 edition emphasizes areas of current concern, such as: infection control provisions; the use of infection control risk assessments (ICRAs), especially as a valuable risk-definition and risk-reduction tool to be updated throughout the construction process; and provisions for disaster planning, including requirements for all hospitals with emergency departments to be prepared for patients presenting with nuclear, biological, or chemical exposure.
A concerted effort was made to bring requirements for surgery facilities in outpatient settings into line with those for surgical suites in acute care general hospitals. The intent was to ensure that patients in both settings receive the same level of protection for surgical procedures. To order the publication ($75 plus shipping; discount for AIA members), contact the AIA Bookstore at 202/626-7541 or 800/242-3837 (press 4).
