Rule 3701-7-05 | Facilities; equipment; safety requirements.
(A) Maternity home facilities and equipment will include at least the following:
(1) Equipment, lighting, and means of regulating indoor temperature and indoor air quality to provide a safe and comfortable living environment and working conditions in the maternity home;
(2) Adequate facilities for the delivery of housekeeping and other supportive services;
(3) Handrails in all stairwells, and grab bars in bathrooms and showers;
(4) Secure office space for maintenance, preparation, and storage of resident medical records and medications;
(5) Separate toilet facilities for personnel;
(6) A dining area;
(7) Adequate storage areas;
(8) A means for the sanitary disposal of waste and soiled linen;
(9) A relaxation area not readily accessible to the casual visitor;
(10) Private office space for resident consultation;
(11) Laundry facilities for residents;
(12) At least one separate, private room for the examination and treatment of residents;
(13) Equipment and supplies necessary for routine and emergency care of residents;
(14) Resident bedrooms, with no more than four beds in each room; and
(15) For every three residents, one bathroom that is accessible from a hallway.
(B) Each maternity home is obligated to post the department's toll free complaint hotline in a conspicuous place.
(C) Each maternity home that offers newborn services will maintain a newborn nursery appropriate to the number of newborns to be cared for at any one time. Each newborn nursery room will be equipped with the following:
(1) A floor area of twenty-four square feet for each newborn station with a minimum of two feet between newborn stations;
(2) Maternity homes providing care to newborns requiring close observation are obligated to provide a minimum floor area of fifty square feet with a minimum of four feet between and at all sides of newborn stations;
(3) At least one door capable of being locked that exits to a main corridor; and
(4) At least one sink capable of hands-free operation.
(D) Each maternity home will ensure that the building or structure where the maternity home is located:
(1) Has a certificate of use from a local, certified building department or from the Ohio department of commerce as meeting applicable requirements of Chapters 3781. and 3791. of the Revised Code and the rules adopted thereunder;
(2) Complies with the state fire code; and
(3) Complies with the applicable provisions of Chapter 3737. of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under it.
(E) The maternity home will develop and follow a disaster preparedness plan including evacuation in the event of a fire. Evacuation procedures will be reviewed at least annually, and practice drills will be conducted quarterly on each shift.
(F) The maternity home will develop and follow policies for ensuring the safety and security of all residents, including infant security drills for locating missing infants. The policies will be reviewed at least annually, and practice infant security drills will be conducted on each shift at least once every six months.
(G) The maternity home will establish and follow written infection control policies and procedures for the surveillance, control, prevention, and reporting of communicable disease organisms by both the contact and airborne routes which will be consistent with current infection control guidelines issued by the United States centers for disease control and prevention. The policies and procedures will address:
(1) The utilization of protective clothing and equipment;
(2) The storage, maintenance and distribution of sterile supplies and equipment;
(3) The disposal of biological waste, including blood, body tissue, and fluid in accordance with Ohio law;
(4) Universal precautions body substance isolation or equivalent; and
(5) Tuberculosis and other airborne diseases.
(H) The maternity home will comply with the disease reporting requirements set forth in Chapter 3701-3 of the Administrative Code.
(I) Each maternity home will label, store and dispose all poisons, hazardous wastes and flammable materials in a safe manner that does not jeopardize resident health or safety, and in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations.
Last updated March 30, 2026 at 7:34 AM
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