Review this check-list to make sure your facility's emergency preparedness plan is up to speed. With hurricane season bearing down on the east coast and tremendous fires devastating parts of the west, every nursing facility across the country needs to be sure that its all-hazards, emergency preparedness planning is current and up-to-date, urges
Facilities that fail to have detailed written plans and procedures to meet all potential emergencies and disasters, such as fire, severe weather, and missing residents can be hit with a citation at tag F517. In addition, under tag F518, facilities must train all employees in emergency procedures when they begin to work in the facility, periodically review the procedures with existing staff, and carry out unannounced staff drills using those procedures. (For details, consult the Medicare State
Operations Manual
, pgs. 649-650, available at: www.cms.gov/Medicare?Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/index.html?redirect=/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/PMSR/list.asp)Leoni notes that at a minimum Emergency Preparedness Planning should include:
Most importantly, you need to put in place evacuation plans in the event that you have to do a full building evacuation, Leoni stressed. "Who are your receiving facilities? Do they know who they are? How will you transport individuals there? How are you going to track residents? How are you going to provide actual medical record information to go with each resident during an evacuation?" she asked.
Full Building Evacuation:
Influx of Residents / Surge Capacity:
Additional information and tools are available for providers at: www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertEmergPrep/index.html. If you click on the Health Care Provider link you will find several links to other resources including a tool for evacuation decision developed through a federal grant by the State of Florida, Leoni noted.
You may also check www.massmap.org for an influx/surge guideline developed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health through a federal grant. "Just go on that website and search on emergency preparedness; it brings you right up to a page where there's tons of information and tools for folks to look at and use," she said.
Editor's note:
Readers who would like the PDF file of the National Criteria for Evacuation Decision-Making in Nursing Homes (2008) prepared by the Florida Health Care Education and Development Foundation through a project funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation may e-mail the editor with their request at: marjorie.lellis@comcast.net.