Washington Administrative Code

The licensee shall provide:(1) An adequate number of counseling or treatment rooms for group or individual therapy programs with reasonable sound-proofing to maintain confidentiality;(2) One or more physical examination rooms, with or without an exterior window, equipped with:(a)…

The licensee shall provide:(1) One toilet, handwashing sink and bathing fixture for each six patients, or fraction thereof, on each patient-occupied floor of the hospital, with:(a) Provisions for privacy during toileting, bathing, showering, and dressing;(b) Separate toilet rooms…

(1) The licensee shall:(a) Provide an initial physical and dependency assessment by a physician, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or physician assistant;(b) Admit only those patients for whom the hospital is qualified by staff, services and equipment to give adequate care;…

(1) The licensee shall provide adequate emergency supplies and equipment, including airways, bag resuscitators, intravenous fluids, oxygen, sterile supplies, and other equipment identified in the policies and procedures, easily accessible to patient-care staff;(2) When research i…

A licensee providing inpatient services for patients with suspected or known infectious tuberculosis shall:(1) Design patient rooms with:(a) Ventilation to maintain a negative pressure condition in each patient room relative to adjacent spaces, except bath and toilet areas, with:…

(1) The licensee shall establish and maintain an organized clinical record service, consistent with recognized principles of record management, directed, staffed, and equipped to:(a) Ensure timely, complete and accurate identification, checking, processing, indexing, filing, and …

The licensee shall:(1) Maintain the pharmacy in the hospital in a safe, clean, and sanitary condition;(2) Provide evidence of current approval of pharmacy services by the Washington state board of pharmacy under chapter 18.64 RCW;(3) Develop and implement procedures for prescribi…

The licensee shall:(1) Provide access to laboratory services to meet emergency and routine needs of patients;(2) Ensure laboratory services are provided by licensed or waivered medical test sites in accordance with chapter 70.42 RCW and chapter 246-338 WAC; and(3) Maintain each m…

The licensee shall:(1) Comply with chapters 246-215 and 246-217 WAC, food service;(2) Designate an individual responsible for managing and supervising dietary/food services twenty-four hours per day, including:(a) Incorporating ongoing recommendations of a dietitian;(b) Serving a…

The licensee shall provide:(1) Laundry and linen services, on the premises or by commercial laundry;(2) Storage and sorting areas for soiled laundry in well-ventilated areas, separate from clean linen handling areas;(3) A clean area with an adequate supply of clean linen;(4) When…

(1) The applicant or licensee shall comply with chapter 31 of the Washington State Building Code for all construction.(2) Prior to starting construction, the applicant or licensee shall submit the following documentation to the department:(a) A completed application form, a copy …

(1) A licensee wishing to request an exemption from a requirement in this chapter shall submit a written request to the department, including:(a) A description of the requested exemption;(b) Reason for the exemption; and(c) Impact of the exemption on patient or public health and …

This section establishes the initial licensure and annual fees for private alcohol and chemical dependency hospitals licensed under chapter 71.12 RCW.(1) Applicants and licensees shall submit to the department:(a) An initial licensure fee of one hundred thirty-five dollars for ea…

(1) These rules implement chapter 18.46 RCW which requires the department of health to set minimum health and safety standards for birthing centers.(2) Applicants and licensees must meet the requirements of this chapter and other applicable state and local laws.(3) This chapter d…

For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases will have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(1) "Administration of drugs" means an act in which a single dose of a prescribed drug or biological is given to a patient by an authorize…

A person must possess a current birth center license issued by the department before advertising, operating, managing, conducting, opening or maintaining a birthing center unless exempt under chapter 18.46 RCW. A birth center applicant working towards licensure may begin advertis…

The purpose of this section is to provide birth centers a mechanism to request an interpretation, exemption, or approval to use an alternative method. This chapter is not intended to prevent use of any systems, materials, alternate design, or methods of construction as alternativ…

The purpose of this section is to provide organizational guidance and oversight and to ensure resources and staff to support safe and adequate patient care.(1) The birth center must have a governing body.(2) The governing body must be responsible for providing personnel, faciliti…

This section describes the applicant or licensee's responsibilities in the fulfillment of the requirements of this chapter.(1) An applicant or licensee must:(a) Comply with chapter 18.46 RCW and this chapter;(b) Establish, implement and periodically review all policies and proced…

This section describes the department's responsibilities in the fulfillment of the requirements of this chapter:(1) The department may, in accordance with chapter 18.46 RCW:(a) Issue an initial license for 12 months following submission of a completed application and appropriate …

The purpose of this section is to provide minimum standards for a safe and efficient patient care environment consistent with other rules. The rules are intended to allow flexibility in achieving desired outcomes and enable birth centers to respond to changes in technologies and …

The purpose of this section is to ensure criminal history background inquiries are conducted for any employee or prospective employee who has or will have unsupervised access to children, vulnerable adults, and individuals with developmental disabilities.(1) A birthing center app…

The purpose of this section is to improve patient outcomes by ensuring birthing centers inform clients of specific rights.The birthing center at the time of registration, including clients of contractors, must provide each client with an electronic or written bill of rights. The …

The purpose of the staffing section is to ensure the birth center provides competent staff consistent with the scope of services.(1) The birth center must have sufficient, qualified personnel and clinical staff to provide the services needed by patients and for safe maintenance a…

The purpose of this section is to ensure the birth center provides direction and standards in the employment, contracting and recording of personnel procedures.(1) A birthing center applicant or licensee must establish and implement policies and procedures which include, but are …

The purpose of this section is to ensure the birth center is able to provide safe and appropriate care to the patients of the birth center.(1) An applicant or licensee must establish and implement policies and procedures which include, but are not limited to:(a) Definition of a l…

The purpose of this section is to identify and reduce the risk of acquiring and transmitting infections and communicable diseases between patients, staff, medical staff, and visitors.A birthing center must:(1) Develop and implement infection control policies and procedures consis…

The purpose of this section is to ensure the birth center provides safe and appropriate equipment and supplies necessary for the safe provision of patient care.(1) The applicant or licensee must ensure the birth center has the adequate, appropriate size and type equipment and sup…

The purpose of this section is to ensure the birthing center obtains, manages, and uses information to improve patient care and outcomes.(1) The birthing center must have a defined patient record system, policies and procedures which provide for identification, security, confiden…

The purpose of this section is to ensure that patient pharmaceutical needs are met consistent with chapter 246-945 WAC and the following requirements:(1) The licensee must establish and implement written policies to address the type, indications, dosage, contraindications, and si…

The purpose of this section is to reduce and control environmental hazards and risks, prevent accidents and injuries, and maintain safe conditions and equipment for patients, visitors, and staff.(1) The licensee must provide and maintain a safe and clean environment. The licensee…

The purpose of this section is to establish and implement a disaster plan designed to meet both internal and external disasters.Each applicant or licensee must:(1) Develop and implement written policies and procedures governing emergency preparedness and fire protection;(2) Devel…

The purpose of this section is to ensure that performance improvement activities of clinical staff result in continuous improvement of client health outcomes.Each birthing center licensee must maintain a quality improvement program to ensure the quality of care and services provi…

(Effective until July 1, 2026)The purpose of the fees section is to describe the fees associated with licensing, renewal and other charges assessed by the department.(1) Birthing centers licensed under chapter 18.46 RCW must submit an annual fee of $713 to the department unless a…

The Washington state department of health adopts this chapter to implement chapter 70.230 RCW and establish minimum health and safety requirements for the licensing, inspection, operation, maintenance, and construction of ambulatory surgical facilities.(1) Compliance with the reg…

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise:(1) "Abuse" means injury or sexual abuse of a patient indicating the health, welfare, and safety of the patient is harmed:(a) "Physical abuse" means acts or incidents which…

This section outlines the actions and roles of the department for licensing an ambulatory surgical facility.(1) For existing facilities currently doing business, that apply for a license prior to July 1, 2009, the department will verify compliance with chapter 70.230 RCW and this…

This section outlines the department's on-site survey and complaint investigation activities and roles.(1) Surveys. The department will:(a) Conduct on-site surveys of each ambulatory surgical facility every eighteen months or more often using the health and safety standards in th…

This section outlines the department's responsibility and authority over ambulatory surgical facilities that operate after July 1, 2009, without a department issued license.(1) The department will investigate complaints of an ambulatory surgical facility operating without a licen…

(1) The department may exempt an ambulatory surgical facility from complying with portions of this chapter when:(a) The exemption will not change the purpose and intent of chapter 70.230 RCW or this chapter;(b) Patient safety, health or well-being is not threatened;(c) Fire and l…

This section identifies the actions and responsibilities of an applicant or ambulatory surgical facility for a license.(1) Initial license. An applicant must submit an application packet and fee to the department at least sixty days before the intended opening date of the new amb…

This section identifies the actions and responsibilities of a licensed ambulatory surgical facility.(1) An ambulatory surgical facility must comply with chapter 70.230 RCW and this chapter;(2) An ambulatory surgical facility certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Serv…

This section outlines a process to request an exemption, interpretation, or approval to use an alternative method and the department's response. This section is not intended to prevent use of systems, materials, alternate design, or methods of construction as alternatives to thos…

This section outlines the organizational guidance and oversight responsibilities of ambulatory surgical facility resources and staff to support safe patient care.An ambulatory surgical facility must have a governing authority that is responsible for determining, implementing, mon…

This section describes leaderships' role in assuring care is provided consistently throughout the facility according to patient needs. The ambulatory surgical facility leaders must:(1) Identify patient care responsibilities for all nursing personnel;(2) Assure nursing services ar…

The purpose of this section is to improve patient care and outcomes by respecting every patient and maintaining ethical relationships with the public. Ambulatory surgical facilities must:(1) Adopt and implement policies and procedures that define each patient's right to:(a) Be tr…

The National Quality Forum identifies and defines twenty-nine serious reportable events (adverse health events) as updated and adopted in 2011.(1) An ambulatory surgical facility must report adverse health events to the department.(2) An ambulatory surgical facility must comply w…

This section ensures that ambulatory surgical facilities provide competent staff consistent with scope of services. Ambulatory surgical facilities must:(1) Create and periodically review job descriptions for all staff;(2) Supervise staff performance to assure competency;(3) Verif…

This section requires development of a medical staff structure, consistent with clinical competence, to ensure a safe patient care environment. The medical staff must:(1) Be accountable to the governing body;(2) Adopt bylaws, rules, regulations, and organizational structure inclu…

The purpose of this section is to improve patient outcomes and ambulatory surgical facility performance through obtaining, managing, and use of information.An ambulatory surgical facility must:(1) Provide medical staff, employees and other authorized persons with access to patien…