Emergency Preparedness in Nursing Facilities

Mid November of last year was the deadline for most of the nation's long-term facilities to have emergency and disaster preparedness in place. New Medicare and Medicaid guidelines were prompted because of the over 200 deaths of hospital and nursing home residents during Hurricane Katrina. The plans must contain everything from storms to cyberattacks. Critics say they're glad the rules are finally going into effect. They realize though, the rules will do little to prevent future catastrophes without tough enforcement, ongoing training, routine testing and frequent live drills. Providers, for the most part, are more prepared to deal with emergencies since Katrina. Emergency preparedness plans need to be actionable and implemented effectively. Examples are the problems in La Vita Bella, Texas and Hollywood Hills, Florida. In the Texas nursing home, residents, some wheelchair bound, languished in floodwaters for hours. In Florida, 14 residents died after air conditioners failed. In a recent review of federal records, it was found that over the past 4 years nursing home inspectors issued 2,300 violations of emergency-planning regulations nationwide. Neglecting upkeep on emergency power generators were cited to nearly 1,400 nursing facilities. Just requiring elder-care operators to file emergency preparedness plans won't change the problems unless there is enough oversight or enforcement to make sure the emergency preparedness will actually work. Emergency preparedness is an afterthought at most nursing homes. It is not woven into the fabric of the company's operations. Until more nursing facility operators take emergency disaster planning seriously what happened in Texas and Florida most likely will happen again.