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Assisted Living Occupant Load

RLGA

RLGA

SAWHORSE
Staff member
Joined
Oct 18, 2009
Messages
3,534
Location
Phoenix, AZ
I'm working on an assisted living project with two levels of care: One level is classified as Group I-1 (Assisted Living Facilities) and the other is Group I-2 (Nursing Homes). Each level has its own courtyard. The Group I-1 is just residential, but it is adjacent to a community building separated by a fire wall. The Group I-2 also adjoins the community building and is separated from it by a fire wall; however, the Group I-2 has it's own internal community areas called "neighborhoods." This is where I'm having some difficulty in regard to occupant load.

For the Group I-1, the occupant load isn't too bad and the the egress system can handle it, and the occupant load for the community building is also manageable within the designed egress system. However, the Group I-2 nursing home is a problem. There are only 48 sleeping units, but based on gross area, the occupant load is 175. Now, add in the "Neighborhoods," which are like very large living/dining/kitchen areas at about 1,600 sq. ft. each. Using the unconcentrated assembly OL factor for the net floor areas, the occupant load increases by another 313, for a total of 488. Now, the courtyard can only egress through the building, and if I add that occupant load (using the unconcentrated assembly OL factor) into the mix the total occupant load for the building will be somewhere between 800 to 900--for a 48 room nursing home.

Now, could these "Neighborhoods" and the courtyard could be considered "inpatient treatment areas" at 240 sq. ft. per occupant? This will drop the occupant load way down to a more manageable level--to about 200 occupants total for the building.

Anybody else have other solutions that have been accepted?

Thanks
 
Modern living

Sounds like ask for a reasonable "assisnged occupant load"

On the ahj side I would require additional occupant load for the holiday parties, bingo games, beauty pageants, hot dog cook outs, etc.

Plus, the get together of the assisted living people.


Would not ask for 800


WHAT is the occupant load of the assisted living??????



What is the maximum the exiting can handle??
 
Last edited:
@ = @


Ron,

I agree with **cda** in that the "Neighborhoods
& Courtyard Areas could be termed "In Patient Treatment
Areas", based upon the definition of Custodial Care
[ RE: `12 IBC, Ch. 2 Definitions ] received by the
occupants.

IMO, and like **cda**, ...you would also need to add
the Occ. Loads for other events in these "Neighborhoods
& Courtyard Areas" as well.


@ = @
 
Ron,
"Very" interesting, any assumptions may be wrong assumptions given the number of visitors throughout the week vs on any given holiday when they will increase.
Is their a parking lot? How many cars?
 
Here's a plan; everything in gray is the Group I-2. The fire wall runs along the left side. Using the "Inpatient Treatment Area" application method I described above gives me a total occupant load of 253. This is a memory care unit (a P.C. term for Alzheimer's patient care), so I would not expect the big bashes and blow-out parties here--maybe in the adjacent community building where a large multipurpose room designed for 213 occupants and a large dining room for 150 occupants can handle those. At 48 units, that would be 4 guests or staff for every resident.

As an alternative (although I haven't calculated it yet), I can calculate occupant load based on the following:
  • Sleeping Units as "Institutional, Sleeping areas"
  • Common Areas as "Institutional, Inpatient treatment areas"
  • Offices, Beauty Shop, Common Assisted-Use Restrooms, Courtyard, and Corridors as "Business Areas"
This may increase the occupant load to a little over 325.

upload_2016-7-28_8-48-32.png
 
Pictures worth a thousand words, I only see two exits out of the interior court and they don't appear to be separated by enough (I take it the building is sprinklered?). I have a similar plan I am reviewing for a campus admin. building, you have to exit the court back into the building to exit it?
 
Ron, Also noted that neighborhoods if as shown are separated by walls then how are only single exits from each allowed?
 
The plan is a doughnut--there is a corridor that runs through it even though there are doors across the corridors to create the required smoke compartments (I've informed the architect that the doors need to swing in opposite directions for bidirectional egress). The neighborhood areas are open off the circular corridor. The courtyard has three exits, one each into the three neighborhoods.

As for building exits, there are four: two directly to the exterior and two horizontal exits through the fire walls.
 
RGLA

so what do you calculate the maximum occupant load the exiting system can handle??
 
And,

Is this a total lock down faculty ??

OR

Can they walk out an exit, maybe with a delayed exit device or similar??
 
Unless I saw something in a closer plan, I could buy the neighborhoods as 200 per for residential or 240 for inpatient. Because it looks like they are just sleeping units, I could justify the common space as living spaces without any real heartburn....How good of a relationship do they have with their BO or FM?
 
RGLA

so what do you calculate the maximum occupant load the exiting system can handle??
 
I have a facility like this in my community, the neighborhoods are the common areas where the residents go for breakfast lunch and dinner, so that they can have a family experience with each other. I would not consider the patient sleeping rooms and the neighborhoods as simultaneous occupancies the patients from the rooms come to these communal areas for meals and socialization likewise the courtyard is the outdoor area for those residents.

I have always looked at the tabular area calculations as a basis for determining if the egress capacity is sufficient, however it is my opinion that the codes allow the the designer to set the actual occupant load and the AHJ concur or set forth the reasoning why the number is incorrect.

since there appears to be 48 rooms and if they are single person rooms will be only 48 patients the square footage calculation does not come in the play. So in the end when we did the facility in my community we looked at the exiting capacity the reasonable practical number of people that might actually be there. If they want to exceed that number had to come back with an analysis that justifies changing the number of occupants and possibly earning them new certificates with the new desire number of occupants.
 
107.2.3 Means of egress. The construction documents shall
show in sufficient detail the location, construction, size and
character of all portions of the means of egress in compliance
with the provisions of this code. In other than occupancies
in Groups R-2, R-3, and I-1, the construction
documents shall designate the number of occupants to be
accommodated on every floor, and in all rooms and spaces.

1004.1.1 Areas without fixed seating. The number of
occupants shall be computed at the rate of one occupant per
unit of area as prescribed in Table 1004.1.1. For areas without
fixed seating, the occupant load shall not be less than
that number determined by dividing the floor area under
consideration by the occupant per unit of area factor
assigned to the occupancy as set forth in Table 1004.1.1.
Where an intended use is not listed in Table 1004.1.1, the
building official shall establish a use based on a listed use
that most nearly resembles the intended use.

Exception: Where approved by the building official, the
actual number of occupants for whom each occupied
space, floor or building is designed, although less than
those determined by calculation, shall be permitted to be
used in the determination of the design occupant load.
 
cda said:
RGLA

so what do you calculate the maximum occupant load the exiting system can handle??
Click to expand...
The 8-foot corridor can handle 480. However, if you assume a 50/50 split in the capacity, with 1/2 going one direction and the other 1/2 going the other direction, then that could jump to 960--but I don't want a fight regarding interpretation of corridor width and capacity. The egress system appears to handle the high load, but the problem comes in the form of smoke compartment refuge area sizing.
 
I am somewhat surprised at the high occupant loading when the intent of the design is basically a residential (assisted) living facility with common areas for the residents. I don't think the intent of the code is to separate (or segregate) the MOE for different areas as I believe this should be a gross floor area calculation similar to residential occupant load calculations with an added sprinkle of Smoke Compartmentalization practices for Life Safety.
 
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