Inpatient Facility Coding & Compliance Alert

Question: According to the Joint Commission standards, are organizations supposed to have a 96 hour supplies and strategy at hand in case of an emergency?

Wisconsin Subscriber

Answer: The Joint Commissions requirement regarding the capability of handling six critical areas in an emergency response is to assess and identify whether your facility has the capacity to sustain itself for at least 96 hours, or four days, until help arrives. It was evident in surveys that most organizations did not have adequate fuel arrangements, drinking water, or water for patient care, and sanitation to sustain for 96 hours. If you determine that in case of emergency, when all your support from outside of the community is exhausted, you would be able to sustain only up to, for example, 80 hours, then evacuation should be the appropriate response.