Residential Healthcare Facilities 2014 Guidelines Revision Project: Household and Small House

With the advent of culture change in the long-term care market, it was viewed as necessary to provide minimal guidelines that would assist authorities having jurisdiction and designers to identify different requirements based upon different models of care and facilities being provided for long-term care residents. Research is available for improving long-term care environments through culture-change initiatives (resident-centered models) and different types of environments that substantially differ from a traditional institutional model. However, because of existing institutional models, the guidelines also need to continue to support improvements in traditional settings as well.

After reviewing the existing 2010 Guidelines text, a comprehensive approach focusing on typologies was utilized as a basis for organizing different types of nursing home settings. Subsequent to the restructuring and rewriting of the text by this workgroup, the Specialty Sub-Group of the overall Health Guidelines Revision Committee utilized the same approach for not only nursing homes, but for other residential care facilities, including a new chapter on independent living, assisted living, hospice, and adult day care.

The overall goal of the workgroup is to provide both minimum requirements and additional best practices information within the appendix that support the trend of culture change and resident-centered care that is intended to improve not only the physical environment, but also the quality of life and outcomes for residents and staff.