26:2H-14.4 Air conditioning, heating required in certain facilities.
2. a. A nursing home or residential health care facility included within the provisions of P.L.1984, c.114 (C.26:2H-14.1 et seq.) which is constructed or expanded after the effective date of P.L.1989, c.173 (C.26:2H-14.4 et al.), or a dementia care home included within the provisions of P.L.1984, c.114 (C.26:2H-14.1 et seq.) which is constructed or expanded after the effective date of P.L.2015, c.125 (C.55:13B-5.1 et al.), shall be equipped with air conditioning and heating in all areas used by patients or residents, and the air conditioning and heating shall be operated so that the temperature in these areas does not exceed 81 degrees Fahrenheit or fall under 65 degrees Fahrenheit. All areas used by patients or residents shall be maintained within a temperature range from 65 to 81 degrees Fahrenheit, except in rooms:
(1) designated for activities requiring physical exertion; or
(2) where residents can individually control the temperature in their own living units, independent from other areas.
b. A nursing home, or a residential health care facility owned by a licensed health care facility and licensed by the Department of Health pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), may maintain a temperature in an area used by patients or residents that does not fall within the range provided pursuant to subsection a. of this section, provided that the temperature is within a range permitted pursuant to applicable regulation of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
L.1989, c.173, s.2; amended 2015, c.125, s.6; 2021, c.260, s.2.