New Mexico Administrative Code

Permanent.

A. Heating, air-conditioning, piping, boilers, and ventilation equipment must be furnished, installed and maintained to meet all requirements of current state and local mechanical, electrical, and construction codes. All facilities must have documentation that fuel-fire heating s…

A. All fuel fired water heaters shall be separated from other parts of the facility by partitions having a fire resistive rating of one hour. Doors to enclosure must be one and three quarter inches solid core. B. All water heaters must be equipped with a pressure relief valve (po…

A. A facility must be provided with an adequate supply of water which is of a safe and sanitary quality suitable for domestic use. B. If the water supply is not obtained from an approved public system, the private water system must be inspected, tested, and approved by the New Me…

A. All sewage and liquid wastes must be disposed of into a municipal sewage system where such facilities are available. B. Where a municipal sewage system is not available, the system used must be inspected and approved by the environmental health authority. C. Where municipal or…

A. All areas of the facility including storerooms, stairways, hallways, and entrances must be lighted sufficiently to make all parts of the area clearly visible. B. Exits, exit-access ways, and other areas used at night by clients and staff must be illuminated. C. Lighting fixtur…

A. Electrical installations and electrical equipment must comply with all current state and local codes. B. All fuse and breaker boxes must be labeled to indicate the area of the facility to which each fuse or circuit breaker provides services. C. The main electrical service line…

A. Each resident sleeping room and activity room must have window area of at least one tenth the floor area with a minimum of at least 10 square feet. B. Each sleeping room must provide at least one window for egress or rescue with a minimum net clear opening of five point seven …

A. Each building must have at least two approved exits. B. Each exit will be clearly marked with signs having letters at least six inches high whose principal strokes are at least three fourths of an inch wide. Exit signs shall be visible at all times. C. Exits must be clear of o…

A. Corridors in a facility must have a minimum width of 36 inches. Corridors in newly constructed facilities shall have a minimum width of 44 inches. B. Corridors shall have a clear ceiling height of not less than seven feet measured to the lowest projection from the ceiling. C. …

A. All habitable rooms in a facility shall have a ceiling height of not less than seven feet six inches. Kitchens, halls, bathrooms and toilet compartments will have a ceiling height of not less than seven feet. B. All habitable rooms other than a kitchen shall be not less than s…

July 1, 2024, unless a different date is cited at the end of a section.

A. All client sleeping room doors must be at least one and three quarter inches bonded solid core with a minimum width of 30 inches. B. All exit doors must have a minimum width of 36 inches. C. All doors to toilet and bathing facilities must have a minimum width of 24 inches. D. …

A. Each client room must be an outside room. B. There must be no through traffic in client rooms. C. Client rooms must communicate directly with other areas of the facility. D. Client rooms must be private or semi-private. E. Private rooms must have at least 100 square feet of fl…

A. Toilets and sinks for residents in a facility must be provided in a ratio of at least one toilet and one sink for every eight clients. B. If a facility has a capacity greater than five and provides service to both male and female clients, separate facilities must be provided f…

All current applicable requirements of state and local codes for fire prevention and safety must be met by the facility.

A. Written documentation from the state fire marshall's office or fire prevention authority having jurisdiction evidencing a facility's compliance with applicable fire prevention codes shall be submitted to the licensing authority prior to issuance of a initial license. B. Each f…

A. The facility shall be equipped with an approved, manually operated alarm system or other continuously sounding alarm approved in writing by the fire authority having jurisdiction. B. Approved smoke detectors powered by house electrical service shall be installed to provide, wh…

A. All staff personnel of the facility must know the location of and be instructed in proper use of fire fighting equipment and other procedures to be observed in case of fire or other emergencies. The facility should request the local fire prevention authority to give periodic i…

A. An easily accessible telephone for summoning help in case of emergency must be available in each facility. A pay telephone will not fulfill this requirement. B. A list of emergency numbers, including, but not limited to, fire department, police department, ambulance services, …

A. Smoking by clients and staff must only be done in supervised areas designated by the facility and approved by the state fire marshall or local fire prevention authorities. Smoking must not be allowed in a kitchen or food preparation area. B. All designated smoking areas must b…

Accessibility to the handicapped must be provided in all facilities in accordance with ANSI standards and shall include the following: A. main entry into the facility must be ground level or ramped to allow wheelchair access; B. building must allow access to main living area and …

The purpose of these regulations is to: A. Establish professional minimum standards for ICF/MR facilities in the state of New Mexico which were formerly licensed under regulations governing long term care facilities. B. Monitor ICF/MR facilities with these regulations through sur…

A. Each facility licensed pursuant to these regulations must have a governing body that: (1) exercises general direction over the affairs of the facility. (2) establishes policies concerning the operation of the facility and the welfare of the individuals it serves. (3) establish…

Each facility licensed pursuant to these regulations must have an administrator appointed by the governing body who acts for the governing body in the overall management of the facility.

Each facility licensed pursuant to these regulations must have a qualified mental retardation professional. A qualified mental retardation professional is a person who has specialized training or one year of experience in treating or working with the mentally retarded and is one …

Each facility licensed pursuant to these regulations must have an interdisciplinary team assigned to each client. A. Each interdisciplinary team shall be composed of staff members including direct care staff and individuals including the client's family or guardian who are involv…

Each facility licensed pursuant to these regulations must have either adequate staff not involved in direct care to clients or contractual services to perform the following functions: A. administration; B. fiscal; C. clerical; D. housekeeping and maintenance.

Direct care staff must make care and development of the clients, their primary responsibility, this includes training of each client in the activities of daily living and in the development of self-help and social skills. A. The facility management must insure that the direct car…

A facility licensed pursuant to these regulations must have a written plan for the orientation, on-going staff development, supervision, and evaluation of all staff members. A. The facility must have a staff training program appropriate to the size and nature of the facility that…

The facility must have an organization chart that shows the following: A. the major operating programs of the facility; B. the staff divisions of the facility; C. the administrative personnel in charge of the programs and divisions; D. the lines of authority, responsibility and c…

A. Prior to employment all staff must obtain a health certificate stating that they are free from tuberculosis. B. Health certificate means a completed New Mexico health care authority, public health division form 015, "health certificate" signed by a physician licensed in New Me…

For each facility regardless of organization or design must have, as a minimum, overall staff/client ratios (allowing for a five day work week plus holiday, vacation and sick time) as shown below: A. Those facilities serving children under the age of six years, severely and profo…

For purposes of these regulations the following shall apply: A. "Active treatment" means the consistent, aggressive, accountable, and continuous application of competent interactions between caregivers and persons with developmental disabilities whom they serve in structured and …

A. All staff of a facility providing services must apply for a nationwide criminal records check and employment history in compliance with New Mexico regulations governing criminal records check. B. Copies of the above cited regulations will be provided by the health care authori…

Each client must receive a continuous active treatment program, which includes aggressive, consistent implementation of a program of specialized and generic training, treatment, health services, and related services as described in these regulations, that is directed toward: A. t…

Every facility licensed pursuant to these regulations must develop an activity schedule for each client that: A. The amount of daily active treatment a person receives should be based on the individual needs of that person and planned and provided for by the facility in both form…

The facility must allow the clients to have personal possessions such as toys, books, pictures, games, radios, arts and crafts materials, religious articles, toiletries, jewelry, and letters.

The facility must have written policies and procedures for the control and discipline of clients that are available in each living unit and to parents and guardians. A. If appropriate, clients must participate in formulating these policies and procedures. B. The facility must not…

Except as provided for behavior modification programs, the facility may allow the use of physical restraint on a client only if absolutely necessary to protect the client from injuring himself or others. A. The facility may not use physical restraint:(1) as punishment; (2) for th…

Mechanical devices used for physical restraint must be designed and used in a way that causes the client no physical injury and the least possible physical discomfort. A. A totally enclosed crib or a barred enclosure is a physical restraint. B. Mechanical supports used to achieve…

The facility shall not use chemical restraints in the following manner: A. excessively; B. as punishment; C. for the convenience of the staff; D. as a substitute for activities or treatment; E. in quantities that interfere with a client habilitation program.

A. "Aversive stimuli": things or events that a client finds unpleasant or painful that are used to immediately discourage undesired behavior may be used by the facility as a means of behavior modification. B. "Time out": a procedure designed to improve a client's behavior by remo…

A. A facility licensed pursuant to these regulations may not house clients of grossly different ages, developmental levels, and social needs in close physical or social proximity unless the housing is planned to promote the growth and development of all those housed together. B. …

The degree of compliance required throughout these regulations is designated by the use of the words "shall" or "must" or "may". "Shall" or "must" means mandatory. "May" means permissive. The use of the words "adequate", "proper", and other similar words means the degree of compl…

The facility must coordinate recreational services with other services and programs provided to each client in order to: A. make the fullest possible use of the facility's resources; B. maximize benefits to the clients; C. design and construct or modify recreation areas and facil…

The facility must insure that each client: A. has enough neat, clean, suitable and seasonable clothing; B. has their own clothing marked with their name when necessary; C. is dressed daily in their own clothing unless this is contraindicated in written medical orders; D. is train…

The facility must provide each client with: A. a separate bed of proper size and height for the convenience of the client; B. bedding appropriate to the weather and climate; C. a clean comfortable mattress; D. appropriate furniture, such as a chest of drawers, a table or desk, an…

Each facility licensed pursuant to these regulations must provide: A. space for equipment for daily out-of-bed activity for all clients who are not yet mobile, except those who have a short-term illness or those few clients for whom out-of-bed activity is a threat to life; B. sui…

A. Each client must be trained to be as independent as possible in health, hygiene and grooming practices, including bathing, brushing teeth, shampooing, combing and brushing hair, shaving and caring for toenails and fingernails. B. Each client who does not eliminate appropriatel…