(a) This section applies to facilities undergoing rehabilitation.
(b) Rehabilitation work is classified as follows:
(1) The patching, restoration, or painting of materials, elements, equipment, or fixtures for the purpose of maintaining such materials, elements, equipment, or fixtures in good or sound condition must be classified as repair and must meet the following requirements:
(2) The replacement in kind, strengthening, or upgrading of building elements, materials, equipment, or fixtures, that does not result in a reconfiguration of the building spaces within, must be classified as renovation and must meet the following requirements:
(3) The reconfiguration of any space; the addition, relocation, or elimination of any door or window; the addition or elimination of load-bearing elements; the reconfiguration or extension of any system; or the installation of any additional equipment, must be classified as modification and must meet the following requirements:
(4) The reconfiguration of a space that affects an exit or a corridor shared by more than one occupant space; or the reconfiguration of a space such that the rehabilitation work area is not permitted to be occupied because existing means of egress and fire protection systems, or their equivalent, are not in place or continuously maintained, must be classified as reconstruction and must meet the following requirements:
(5) A change in the purpose or level of activity within a facility that involves a change in application of the requirements of this subchapter must be classified as a change of use and must comply with division 9 of this subchapter.
(6) A change in the use of a structure or portion of a structure must comply with division 9 of this subchapter.
(7) An increase in the building area, aggregate floor area, building height, or number of stories of a structure must be classified as an addition and must comply with division 9 of this subchapter.
(c) If an existing licensed facility plans a building rehabilitation that includes a change in the facility capacity, HHSC must reevaluate the ratio of bathing units to meet minimum standards and the square footage of dining and living areas to meet a minimum of 19 square feet per bed. Conversion of existing living, dining, or activity areas to resident bedrooms must not reduce these functions to a total area of less than 19 square feet per bed. The facility's registered or licensed dietitian or architect having knowledge in the design of food service operations must reevaluate the dietary department. This reevaluation must be provided to HHSC.
(d) A rehabilitation to an occupied building that involves exit-ways or exit doors must be accomplished without compromising the exits or creating a dead end situation at any time. HHSC may approve temporary exits, or the facility must relocate residents until construction blocking the exit is completed. The facility must maintain other basic safety features such as fire alarms, sprinkler systems, and emergency power.
Source Note: The provisions of this §554.350 adopted to be effective March 22, 2018, 43 TexReg 1646; transferred effective January 15, 2021, as published in the Texas Register December 11, 2020, 45 TexReg 8871