Emergency Preparedness

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​AHCA/NCAL provides information and resources to help members respond to an emergency in a timely, organized, and effective manner. ​​​


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What You Need to Know​​​ ​

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Updates​
​​​Find the latest information on COVID-19 for long term care providers here​​

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a comprehensive winter weather health and safety site. Owners and administrators can take tips to prepare for extreme cold conditions and winter storms.​

​Influen​za / Infection Control / Vaccinations​

​Long term care facilities have an important role when it comes to eliminating and minimizing the serious effects from influenza illness on the elderly and disabled. Individuals 65 years or older are one of the high risk groups who can experience serious complications, even death, from influenza infection. Learn more on how to minimize the flu for residents. ​

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 Featured Video
  • Hurricane Heroes
    ​Harvey and Irma were the most intense hurricanes to hit Texas and Florida in many years. During these storms, caregivers at skilled nursing centers and assisted living communities in affected areas made selfless sacrifices to make sure residents and patients were safe. Listen to their stories.

 Top Resources
  • Emergency Preparedness Requires a Communications Plan
    A problematic area in emergency planning is the Communications plan. Accurate communications with stakeholders, especially the media, contributes to a successful resolution of the emergency and may lead to a positive evaluation by the community.
  • Emergency Preparedness Guide
    Timely responses to emergencies are critical for long term care professionals. This guide has been completed to assist professionals to learn more about preparedness and where to learn more about being prepared.
  • Emergency Preparedness Checklist
    In 2014, CMS issued a Survey and Certification Emergency Preparedness Initiative: S&C Emergency Preparedness Checklist Revision. The revisions were made to the recommended CMS Emergency Checklist.
  • Emergency Preparedness Guide for Assisted Living
    The Emergency Preparedness Guide for Assisted Living is a comprehensive resource that will assist members with developing emergency operations plan and includes the planning process. The guide includes templates and numerous resources for members to utilize.
  • Shelter in Place: Planning Resource Guide for Nursing Homes
    For the purposes of this resource guide, shelter in place (SIP) is defined as: A protective action strategy taken to maintain resident care in the facility and to limit the movement of residents, staff and visitors in order to protect people and property from a hazard.

 Important Resources

 Planning Ahead
​In order to effectively handle disasters and emergencies, it is important for centers to plan ahead and prepare in advance. Long term and post-acute care centers can use a targeted approach to addressing vulnerabilities and hazards to help them best respond to and recover from events. This site seeks to assist centers in creating a plan to address its greatest risks:

 
 
Hazard Vulnerability Assessment
The Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (HVA) is a tool designed to assist centers in evaluating vulnerability to specific hazards. The tool uses various categories, such as probability of experiencing a hazard, human impact, property and business impact and response, to create a numeric value based on various hazards.

 

 Incident Command System
The Incident Command System is part of the emergency management system in many levels (federal, state, and local). Every significant incident or event, whether large or small, and whether it is even defined as an emergency, requires certain management functions to be performed.

The Nursing Home Incident Command System (NHICS) and Assisted Living Incident Command System (ALICS) outline a management framework that empowers long-term care staff to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their incident response -- no matter what shift, or what day of the week the event occurs. ​​

 
Resources


 

 ‭(Hidden)‬ CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule
The Emergency Preparedness Final Rule was released on Friday, September 16, 2016. AHCA, along with guest speakers, will hold a webinar series event​ this year on the new emergency preparedness final rule impacting Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF), Nursing Facilities (NF) and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID). This final rule is not applicable to Assisted Living Providers. 

Providers will need to be in compliance by November 15th 2017. The webinar series will include, special guest speakers, an overview of the key new requirements, a list of tools to assess if you are prepared for the rule, steps to take now to prepare.

On Friday, September 1st, CMS released a memorand​um to State Survey Agency Directors announcing that the Emergency Preparedness Training is now available. All surveyors are required to take the training prior to surveying the Emergency Preparedness requirements. Surveying for requirements begins November 15th, 2017. 

The online course is now available on the Surveyor Training Website On-Demand. Once in the course catalog for provider training, search “emergency” and the course information will appear. Providers will have continued (ongoing) access to the course, so they can review it anytime.

Members are strongly encouraged to review and complete the training as it includes quizzes and exercises to check understanding. The training states to surveyors that the requirements do not prescribe or mandate specific technology or tools nor detailed requirements for how facilities should write emergency plans. The training includes the questions surveyors will ask and how documentation will be reviewed and checked. Links to resources and glossary terms are also included.​

​Emergency Resources

In addition to planning for natural disasters, staff and facilities must be prepared for other emergencies, such as pandemics, influenza, active shooters and more. All emergency situations must be handled swiftly, diligently and with the utmost care for staff and patients.

 Active Shooter
​While many emergencies are caused by natural disasters and are, staff and facilities should also be prepared for other types of emergencies. One emergency for which facilities should have plans in place is an active shooter.
Please note: The policies below are models only and should be modified and tailored to meet the needs of individual communities. 

 
AHCA/NCAL's Active Shooter Resources
External Resources

 Assisted Living Resources
The Emergency Preparedness Guide for Assisted Living is a comprehensive resource that will assist members with developing emergency operations plan and includes the planning process. The guide includes templates and numerous resources for members to utilize.

 

Assisted Living Incident Command System (ALICS)

The Incident Command System (ICS) is one component of the National Incident Management System or (NIMS). The Assisted Living Incident Command System or “ALICS” is a simplified ICS and through its use, long-term care providers can become part of this standardized system of efficient response. ICS was modified by two consultants for assisted living and reviewed by AALNA board members and then reviewed by the NCAL Workgroup of the AHCA/NCAL Emergency Preparedness Committee.

ALICS offers long-term care providers a flexible framework for command and control that is based on the standardized system of ICS. It does this through a system that is designed to:
  • Manage all emergency, routine, or planned events, of any size or type, by establishing a clear chain of command and a process for communication, decision‐making and delegation.
  • Allow personnel from different agencies or departments to be integrated into a common structure that can effectively address issues and delegate responsibilities.
  • Provide needed logistical and administrative support to operational personnel.​

 Pandemic and Influenza

For more information on specific conditions, prevention, and treatment, please visit the Clinical Practice website.

Pandemic and Influenza Resources

 Shelter In Place
​​Shelter In Place: Planning Resource Guide for Nursing Homes

For the purposes of this resource guide, shelter in place (SIP) is defined as: A protective action strategy taken to maintain resident care in the facility and to limit the movement of residents, staff and visitors in order to protect people and property from a hazard.

Shelter In Place Guidebook (PDF)

 State Resources
Arizona
California
Michigan
New Jersey
New York
Wisconsin
  • CMS Preparedness Rule Tool Kit by Wisconsin Department of Health
    The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has created toolkits to assist providers affected by the new rule. This toolkits gives facilities that fall under the new rule an overview of the requirements for their provider type, as well as some sample templates in a workbook that can be used in their planning efforts.
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 In Case of An Emergency
AHCA/NCAL regularly publishes and distributes informative documents for members regarding emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.

During public health emergencies, CMS will post updates on waivers on their Emergency Response and Recovery page. Members should check this page for updates during an event.

 QUESTIONS?

Contact:​
(202) 898-2856
eprendergast@ahca.org

 
AHCA/NCAL members can access helpful resources on ahcancalED.

 Regional CMS Contacts
​Atlanta RO:
AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN
ROATLHSQ@cms.hhs.gov
 
Dallas RO:
AR, LA, NM OK, TX
 
Northeast Consortium:
DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV, NY,
NJ, CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT,
Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico
ROPHIDSC@cms.hhs.gov
 
Midwest Consortium:
IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI, IA, KS,
MO, NE
 
Western Consortium:
CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY, AK,
ID, OR, WA, AZ, CA, HI, NE,
Pacific Territories