VA Confirms Sprinkler Mandate for Nursing Homes
This affirms the agency's final rule last February concerning NFPA codes and standards with which various facilities must comply.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has finalized a rule that says community residential care facilities, contract facilities for certain outpatient and residential services, and state home facilities operating nursing home facilities existing as of June 25, 2001, have five years to come into compliance with the automatic sprinkler requirement of the 2009 edition of NFPA 101, the National Fire Protection Association’s Life Safety Code.
VA's final rule took effect Nov. 16.
The department's action affirmed the rule it published last February for comments, which amended VA regulations concerning NFPA codes and standards applicable to community residential care facilities, contract facilities for outpatient and residential treatment services for veterans with alcohol or drug dependence or abuse disabilities, and state homes. The codes are NFPA 10, Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers; NFPA 99, Standard for Health Care Facilities; NFPA 101; and NFPA 101A, Guide on Alternative Approaches to Life Safety.
For more information, contact Brian McCarthy, Office of Patient Care Services at the Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, at 202-461-6759.