Emergency Preparedness

Starting in 2017, skilled nursing facilities were required, by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to do even more in addressing emergency preparedness. In the past, disaster plans have focused on fires and weather events such as floods, storms, etc. Today, disaster planning needs to be expanded to include almost any potential threats. In an effort to assist our members in developing responses to possible disasters, NCHCFA is including a variety of resources available to assist nursing facilities at various levels of preparedness in addressing the CMS requirement as well as their facility-specific needs.

North Carolina Healthcare Preparedness/Healthcare Coalition

The North Carolina Healthcare Preparedness Program (NCHPP) is a partner to healthcare and emergency response organizations working to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from emergencies and disasters affecting the residents and guests of North Carolina. The program is managed by the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)/Office of Emergency Medical Services, in partnership with the Division of Public Health and Department of Public Safety/Division of Emergency Management. The program utilizes eight lead hospitals to coordinate eight healthcare coalitions, to include the State Medical Response System (SMRS) components. The eight healthcare coalitions facilitate and support local and regional partners in developing the following capabilities: foundation for healthcare and medical readiness, healthcare and medical response coordination, continuity of healthcare service delivery, and medical surge. More information can be found about NCHPP can be found on its website here.

The North Carolina Healthcare Coalition is an important resource in disaster response across the state. Their mission is to facilitate coordination and cooperation throughout the state (by region) by ensuring partners have the capability to mitigate, prepare, respond, and recover from critical health events. They are dedicated to organizing healthcare assets through planning, information sharing and coordination to ensure that healthcare organizations have the support they need in order to provide healthcare to their residents and patients. Each division of the coalition has several meetings each year which allow local healthcare partners to come together to address preparedness and response topics impacting each specific region of the state. By affiliating with your local coalition, you will receive meeting invitations, important news, and an opportunity to participate in educational offerings and trainings.

The North Carolina Healthcare Coalitions has 8 divisions. Find your local coalition here!

Healthcare Coalition Contact List by County

County Emergency Management Agencies

Additional Resources

Past Storm Preparations

All-Hazards Planning and Resource Guide

In cooperation with the North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services and with grant funding, NCHCFA developed the All-Hazards Planning and Resource Guide in 2007. The Guide was designed to assist nursing facility providers in creating individualized All Hazards Emergency Plans. The plan template includes a Hazard Vulnerability Assessment, Disaster Preparedness Assessment, and other tools to prepare facilities for evacuation and sheltering-in-place. The template also includes emergency response procedures for various disasters, including hurricane, tornado, bomb-threat, HazMat incidents, etc.

This resource can be used as the basis for developing a plan if your facility currently does not have its own disaster plan or it can be used to supplement an existing plan. Plans in use should be regularly reviewed and updated as needed. There are no regulatory requirements that this specific planning tool is used.

UPDATE: NCHCFA staff and several of its members affected by Hurricane Florence have been working with the University of Louisville since early 2019 to secure CMP funds for the development of updated emergency preparedness materials and trainings. The University of Louisville has shared its most recent publication for the State of Kentucky for NCHCFA members to use in the interim, if they would like. That document may be accessed here.

Introduction
There are three sections for the documentation presented for the All Hazards Planning and Resource Manual including:

Electronic Plan Files (EFT): Provided in Microsoft Word 2000+ format
PDF Files (PDF): Provided in Adobe Acrobat PDF Files
Printing Files (PRT): Provided in Microsoft Word 2000+ format

Components
Under the Components tab, you will find the basic sections of the planning tool.

Appendix
Under the Appendix tab you will find the forms and information pages that support the component sections.

About
The About tab provides a brief description of this tool.

Components
Cover [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Inside Front Pages [EPF] [PDF] [PRT]

Section I: Basic Plan Elements [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Section II: Vulnerability Assessment and Mitigation [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Section III: Emergency Preparedness and Planning [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Section IV: Emergency Response [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Section V: Recovery [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Section VI: Plan Maintenance [EPF] [PDF] [PRT]

Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (XLS) [XLS]

Appendix
Appendix: Table of Contents [EPF] [PDF] [PRT]

Appendix A: Generator Information [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix B: NC Emergency Management County Coordinators [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix C: Floor Plan [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix D: Resident Acuity Levels for Evacuation Purposes [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix E: Legal Authorities Websites and CMS Plan [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix F: Emergency Provisions Checklist [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix G: Agreements [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix H: Employee Emergency Preparedness Information [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix I: Family Disaster Plan [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix J: Sample Menu [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix K: Evacuation Routes and Directions to Alternate Facilities [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix L: Sample Letter to Family Responsible Party [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix M: Resident Evacuation Identification Wristbands [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix N: Resident Evacuation Checklist [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix O: Transfer Techniques [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix P: Resident Evacuation Tracking Log [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix Q: Morgue Log Sheet [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix R: COOP Planning Manual (PDF) [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix S: Business Interruption Planning [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix T: NIMS Course Fact Sheets [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix U: Facility Action Cards [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix V: Incident Management Sheet [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix W: Emergency Shutdown Procedures [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix X: Resident Evacuation Preparedness [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix Y: Severe Weather Information Sheets [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix Z: Workplace Violence Policy and Prevention Program [EPF] [PDF] [PRT]

Appendix AA: Part F Healthcare 2007 Pandemic Flu [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix BB: Long Term Care Pandemic Flu [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix CC: CDC Huricane Recovery [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix DD: CDC Flood Recovery [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix EE: Checklist for Infection Control [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix FF: Glossary [EPF] [PDF] [PRT] Appendix GG: Sources [EPF] [PDF] [PRT]