10-144-118 Me. Code R. § 11.J

Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024

Section 144-118-11.J - Building Accessibility and Use

11.J.1. The facility must:

a. Be accessible to and usable by all clients, personnel, and the public, including clients with disabilities;

b. Have only clients who are ambulatory in bedrooms on any floor that is served by a corridor that cannot accommodate a wheelchair; and

c. Not have housed above the first floor any clients who are blind or non-ambulatory who would be unable to evacuate the premises in an emergency without physical assistance from others.

11.J.2. In newly constructed facilities for persons who are ambulatory, visitors who use wheelchairs shall be accommodated in the following manner:

a. The entrances must be accessible;

b. Doorways must be thirty-six (36) inches in width;

c. Hallways must be of sufficient width to meet accessibility requirements; and d. There must be at least one barrier-free bathroom that is accessible to staff and visitors who have handicaps.

11.J.3. Ramps

To provide accessibility in all facilities to clients who are nonambulatory and for visitors who use wheelchairs, facilities which do not have grounds graded to the same level as the primary entrance shall install a ramp to the first floor. The ramp must have:

a. No greater slope than one and three sixteenth (1 3/16) inches in twelve (12) inches;

b. Handrails;

c. A width not less than four (4) feet clear of all obstructions; and

d. A surface of nonskid material.

11.J.4. Each facility shall meet the requirements of Americans with Disabilities Act Guidelines, 1991.

a. Stairs that allow use by persons with physical handicaps are of a height and design that allow such individuals to negotiate them without assistance.

b. These stairs must be equipped with handrails, at least one of which extends past the top and bottom steps.

c. Floors are non-slip and on a common level or connected by a negotiable ramp on each story.

11.J.5. Each facility must have accessible to and usable by persons with handicaps:

a. An appropriate number of toilet rooms;

b.An appropriate number of public telephones;

c.Elevators in multi-story buildings (at entrance level and all levels normally used by the public);

d.Switches and controls of frequent or essential use;

e.Appropriate means for persons who are blind to identify rooms, facilities and hazard areas;

f.Simultaneous audible and visual warning signals, if appropriate to persons living in that facility

g.Safeguards to eliminate hazards;

h.Client closets; and

i.Beds of a height that permit a person to get in and out of bed unassisted.

11.J.6. The facility shall:

a. Be accessible to and usable by all clients, staff and the public;

b. Have grounds that are graded to the same level as the primary entrance so that the building is accessible to persons with physical handicaps;

c. Have walks, the width and grade of which are designed so that they can be utilized by persons with handicaps;

d. Have a properly designated parking space near the building, allowing room for persons with handicaps to get in and out of an automobile onto a surface suitable for wheeling and walking;

e. Have ramps designed so that they can be negotiated by persons who use wheelchairs;

f. Have a primary entrance usable by persons in wheelchairs;

g. Have doors used by clients and the public that are of sufficient width and weight and are so equipped to permit a person in a wheelchair to open them with a single effort.

10-144 C.M.R. ch. 118, § 11.J