Tips to Ensure ADA Compliance with Patient Privacy Rooms

When you’re creating spaces in the healthcare field, one of the most important considerations you’ll have to make is assuring that you are ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant. Creating patient privacy rooms is no exception. We’ve put together a few ideas to help you make sure you don’t miss anything when it comes to the ADA when you’re putting together your patient privacy rooms.

• Large Openings – Make sure that any patient privacy rooms you design have large openings that make it easy for access by emergency personnel and those who may not have perfect mobility. This is not only an ADA requirement but will make day to day operations much easier. Once you see the room in action with the larger opening space, you’ll understand why it is so important.
• Pull Handles for Easy Reach from a Wheelchair – Someone in a wheelchair may not have the same mobility as someone who is standing. Check to make sure your pull handles are accessible for someone in a wheelchair as well as someone who is standing. By choosing handles that are accessible for anyone, you are not only staying in compliance, but you make getting around that much easier for each and every one of your patients.
• ADA Compliant Locking System – While you want your patient to be able to have privacy within the room, some locking systems may not be easy to utilize for someone with certain mobility issues. Check out the different ADA compliant lever lock system and the options that allow for easy access opening from the inside. In addition, check out the options for locking and unlocking rooms with a touch of a button when the room needs to be locked from the outside. This can make the entire process much easier on everyone involved.
• Smart Tracks – Smart tracks are a “smart” choice for opening and closing panels. They are a great choice for making sure you are ADA compliant because they offer a 3/8” low profile format. Plus, the patented locking system means that the panels don’t come out of their tracks, even if they are bumped into, such as from a wheelchair or walker.

While these are some important considerations, remember these are not “official” requirements. Check with your local regulatory officials and make sure you are following all ADA (and other) codes when you’re building or renovating your patient privacy rooms. This will assure you don’t have any unexpected problems on your hands at the end of the project.