Current through Bulletin 2024-06, March 15, 2024
(1) The licensee
shall ensure the safety and well-being of residents in the event of an
emergency or disaster. An emergency or disaster may include utility
interruption, explosion, fire, earthquake, bomb threat, flood, windstorm, or
epidemic.
(2) The licensee and the
administrator shall be responsible for the development of a plan, coordinated
with state and local emergency or disaster authorities, to respond to
emergencies and disasters and shall:
(a)
distribute the written plan to each facility staff to ensure prompt and
efficient implementation;
(b)
review and update the plan at least annually to conform with local emergency
plans; and
(c) make the plan
available for review by the department.
(3)
(a) The
licensee shall ensure that staff and residents receive education, training, and
drills to respond in an emergency.
(b) The licensee shall document drills and
training, and comply with applicable laws and regulations.
(c) The licensee shall post the name of the
person in charge and names and telephone numbers of emergency medical
personnel, agencies, and emergency transport systems.
(4) The licensee shall ensure that emergency
response procedures address:
(a) evacuation of
occupants to a safe place within the facility or to another location;
(b) delivery of essential care and services
to facility occupants by alternate means;
(c) when housing additional individuals in
the facility during and emergency, delivery of essential care and
services;
(d) delivery of essential
care and services to facility occupants when staff is reduced by an
emergency;
(e) maintenance of safe
ambient air temperatures within the facility;
(f) emergency heating plans shall have the
approval of the local fire department; and
(g) actions for the person in charge to
immediately take when the ambient air temperature reaches 58 degrees Fahrenheit
or 14 degrees Celsius or less, as these temperatures constitute an imminent
danger to the health and safety of the residents in the facility.
(5) The licensee shall ensure that
the emergency plan delineates:
(a) the person
with decision-making authority for fiscal, medical, and personnel
management;
(b) on-hand personnel,
equipment, and supplies and how to acquire additional help, supplies, and
equipment after an emergency or disaster;
(c) assignment of personnel to specific tasks
during an emergency;
(d) methods of
communicating with local emergency agencies, authorities, and other appropriate
individuals;
(e) names and phone
numbers of the individuals to be notified in an emergency in the order of
priority that are accessible to staff at each nurse's station;
(f) methods of transporting and evacuating
residents and staff to other locations; and
(g) conversion of facility for emergency
use.
(6) The licensee
shall maintain documentation of:
(a) emergency
events and responses;
(b) a record
of residents and staff evacuated from the facility to another location;
and
(c) any resident emergencies in
the individual resident record.
(7) The licensee shall hold semi-annual
drills for any residents and staff.
(8) The licensee shall provide regular
in-service training on disaster preparedness.
(9)
(a) The
licensee and administrator shall develop a written fire-emergency and
evacuation plan in consultation with qualified fire safety personnel.
(b) The licensee shall post an evacuation
plan delineating evacuation routes, location of fire alarm boxes, fire
extinguishers, and emergency telephone numbers of the local fire department
throughout the facility.
(c) The
licensee shall include fire containment procedures and how to use alarms and
signals in the written fire-emergency plan.
(d) The licensee shall hold fire and internal
disaster drills at least quarterly, and under varied conditions for each
shift.
(e) The evacuation of
residents during a drill is optional except in a facility caring for residents
who are capable of self-preservation.
(f) The evacuation of residents during a
drill on the night shift is optional.