S&B Plan Submittal Requirements for Hospitals and Nursing Homes, and for Attached Building Areas with Other Uses

Where are building and HVAC plans submitted? All building and HVAC plans with buildings that contain hospital and/or nursing home functions shall be submitted to the Department of Health Services (DHS), Bureau of Quality Assurance, Plan Review Clerk, 1 West Wilson Street, P.O. Box 2969, Madison, WI 53701-2969, Phone 608-267-1442.

Plans for plumbing systems, private onsite waste water treatment, elevators, boilers, mechanical refrigeration systems etc still are required to be submitted to the Safety and Buildings Division of the Wisconsin Department of COmmerce.

When does Safety and Buildings Division review the building and HVAC plans? S&B will only be involved in the building and HVAC review of a health care facility with or without attached non-healthcare uses if the plan indicates a 4-hour unpierced firewall or a pedestrian access way separates the non-healthcare portions from the health care portion.

If that situation occurs, DHS will review the healthcare portion and S&B will review the non-healthcare portion including the 4-hour fire wall or pedestrian access way.

What happens when a joint review occurs? Upon DHS determination that a joint review will occur, DHS will contact S&B to schedule a plan review time for the non-healthcare portion. DHS will coordinate with the submitter and forward one copy of the properly signed and sealed plans along with the appropriate S&B fees and the completed S&B application form to the Madison S&B Office.

S&B will review the plan and email the plan review action letter to DHS for inclusion or as an attachment to the DHS letter of review.

If the plan is held for additional information by either agency, plan revisions or additional information will again be submitted to DHS. DHS will forward one copy of the revised plan submittal to S&B. S&B will review the re-submittal within five working days of receipt by the

S&B staff. email will be used to send the letter to DHS to include with their approval correspondence to the submitter.

How are the fees determined? Fees for that part of the building determined to be reviewed by Bureau of Quality Assurance shall be calculated utilizing the fee tables and instructions found on the Department of Health Services Plans Approval Application Form DSL-2333

Fees for that part of the building determined to be reviewed by Safety and Building shall be calculated utilizing the fee tables and instructions found on the Department of Commerce Buildings, HVAC, and Components Application For Review Form SBD-118.

What happens in a preliminary review? Since DHS will be the primary contact for initial submittal, DHS will conduct the preliminary* reviews and respond to written questions.

In cases where DHS determines that an unpierced building division wall separates the non-healthcare portion from the healthcare portion, DHS will forward those plans to S&B for preliminary review. The agency reviewing the portion of the building will respond to the written questions for the respective part of the building that they will be reviewing and share with the other agency.

(*Note: The term "preliminarry review" is used differently by the two agencies. DHS preliminary is true preliminary review and is usually mandated. S&B preliminary is a written response to specific questions, not a cursory review of the project.)

Who issues permission to start? The reviewing agency will be responsible for permission to start** on the portion it will be reviewing.

(**NOTE: The DHS may issue a permission to start for demolition prior to alteration work as well as for new footings and foundation work. S&B only issues permissions to start for footing foundation work up to grade and does not require plan approval prior to demolition. S&B permission to start procedure is to require either a footing and foundation or a complete building plan be submitted for review prior to issuance of a permission to start.)

Can footing/foundation plans be submitted for review so construction work can begin before the complete building plans are finished?
In lieu of complete plans, a designer may submit footing and foundation plans for review and approval, then submit the full building plans at a later date. These plans should also be submitted directly to DHS and the procedures mentioned above will be followed.

How is a Petition for Variance filed? All petitions for buildings that contain health care facilities shall be submitted to DHS who will follow procedures similar to those for plan review. Contact DHS for required forms.

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Email this page's manager, Todd Taylor, ttaylor@commerce.state.wi.us or 608-267-3606

The Department of Commerce Safety and Buildings Division is an equal opportunity service provider and employer. If you need assistance to access services or need material in an alternate format, please contact us, 608-266-3151, TDD Relay dial 711 in Wisconsin or 800-947-3529, or ttaylor@commerce.state.wi.us