Regulations: Emergency Preparedness for Long-Term Care and Assisted Living Facilities
The Division of Quality Assurance (DQA) oversees regulated health and community provider services. Their goal is to protect the health and safety of people using these services. This includes preparing facilities for emergencies (emergency preparedness).
The State Expert Panel on Healthcare Facilities helps these care providers with emergency preparedness efforts. The State Expert Panel includes:
- Division of Public Health (DPH) staff.
- DQA staff.
- Health care providers.
- Other stakeholders.
The State Expert Panel provides resources and training for emergency preparedness. These resources include assessment tools and sample plans.
There are many hazards that may damage a facility and threaten the health and safety of residents and staff. Being prepared helps protect everyone at a facility.
CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) published an emergency preparedness rule. This rule applies to health care providers who participate in Medicare and Medicaid.
Below are resources to help understand this rule:
- CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule
- CMS—Quality, Safety & Oversight Group - Emergency Preparedness
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—Resources for Emergency Health Professionals
- Facilities Impacted by the Emergency Preparedness Rule (PDF)—Lists the 17 providers, suppliers, and facilities affected.
- State Operations Manual Appendix Z—Provides emergency preparedness information for all providers and certified supplier types.
Wisconsin DPH offers resources to help providers with emergency preparedness planning:
- CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule toolkits
- Emergency Preparedness Regulations—Assisted Living, P-01208 (PDF)
- Emergency Preparedness Regulations—Long-Term Care, P-01209 (PDF)
- Environmental Health
- Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
- Healthcare Emergency Readiness Coalition Regional Contact Information
- Memorandum of Understanding Templates for Long-Term Care or Assisted Living Organizations Background and Guidance, P-00690 (PDF)
- Wisconsin Emergency Management
- Wisconsin Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Program
The following documents are provided by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Hospital Emergency Preparedness Program. The documents are for long-term care and assisted living facilities.
- Emergency Preparedness Plan and Procedures for Long-Term Care/Assisted Living Facilities (PDF)—Includes information about:
- Applying the guidance portions of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan template.
- Applying the Administrative Activity template.
- Using the eight Job Action Sheet samples.
- Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (Word)—Contains guidance to help facilities develop a site-specific plan. It also helps sites develop plans that are compliant with the National Incident Management System.
- Procedure Template: Administrative Activity (Word)—May be used to prepare parts of the emergency plan.
- Note: Response procedures are prepared in the Job Action Sheet.
- Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (PDF)—Instructions on the assessment process, definitions, and how to use the Hazard Vulnerability Assessment tool.
- Hazard Vulnerability Assessment for Long Term Care Facilities (PDF)—PowerPoint slides on the Hazard Vulnerability Assessment tool and instructions.
- Hazard Vulnerability Assessment Tool (Excel)—Spreadsheet with formulas to calculate the hazard scenario risks.
These job action sheets represent the eight key Incident Management Team positions. They are written for long-term care and assisted living facilities. They may be modified as needed by a given facility.
Job action sheets:
- Financial Chief (Word)
- Incident Commander (Word)
- Liaison Officer (Word)
- Logistics Chief (Word)
- Operations Chief (Word)
- Planning Chief (Word)
- Public Information Officer (Word)
- Safety/Security Officer (Word)