Significant Changes in the Draft 2026 FGI Guidelines

June 11 | 2-3pm ET | Earn 1 LU/HSW

Description

The draft 2026 Guidelines documents for hospitals, outpatient facilities, and residential care settings will be released for input from the public on July 1, 2024. This session will cover major changes in the draft, including a new outpatient chapter on short-term care facilities; design considerations for rural emergency hospitals; updated room size and clearances for rehab hospitals; revised nurse call, electrical, and med/gas tables; updated building systems text; a minimum percentage for single-occupancy rooms in most residential facility types; and flexibility to support design of small-scale residential facilities. Revisions to planning requirements for procedure and operating rooms will be discussed, including a tool under development to help owners determine needs for these two room types. The speakers will also discuss refinements for spaces intended for behavioral and mental health patients such as a new chapter on residential behavioral and mental health treatment facilities, and they’ll review efforts to improve usability and enforceability of the documents. Questions and input from the audience will be encouraged. Presented in partnership with the Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH).

Learning Objectives

• Explain the rationale behind the revisions in the draft 2026 FGI Guidelines for hospitals, outpatient facilities, and residential care facilities – the basis of the hospital design codes adopted by most states in the USA. 
• Identify critical changes in the draft Guidelines related to patient and staff safety and infection control.  
• Describe new space/patient types and facility types design code categories proposed for inclusion in the 2026 Guidelines. 
• Discuss the proposed changes to improve patient and staff safety and infection controls for rehabilitation therapy spaces and/or facilities in the Hospital, Outpatient, and Residential Guidelines.