EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS RULE CHANGES

On September 30^th, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced changes to the Emergency Preparedness Rule.

Here are the highlights:

1. Emergency Plans: Facilities no longer have to document their efforts to contact local, tribal, regional, State and Federal emergency preparedness officials, and will no longer have to document participation in collaborative and cooperative planning efforts with these officials. The process for collaborating/cooperating with officials still exists – just not the documentation.
2. Requirements for Annual Review of Emergency Program: Nursing facilities are still required to review their emergency programs annually, but all other providers are required to do this biennially (every two years).
3. Training Requirements: Nursing facilities are still required to provide training annually to their staff, but all other providers are required to do this biennially (every 2 years) after facilities conduct initial training for their emergency program. In addition, CMS is requiring additional training when the emergency plan in significantly updated.
4. Testing Requirements:

• For inpatient providers (includes nursing facilities): The existing requirement still stands, for 2 exercises per year, but the types of acceptable testing exercises that can be conducted is expanding. One exercise must still be a community-based exercise – and when that’s not accessible – an individual facility-based exercise. The second of the annually required testing exercises could be an exercise of their choice: a drill or a tabletop exercise or a workshop that includes a group discussion led by a facilitator (or if they choose, a community-based full-scale exercise or an individual facility-based functional exercise).
• For outpatient providers: Only one testing exercise is required annually. Every other year, facilities must participate in either one community-based full-scale exercise, if available, or an individual facility-based functional exercise. In the opposite years, these providers may choose the testing exercise of their choice, which could be a drill, tabletop exercise or workshop that includes a group discussion led by a facilitator (or a full-scale community or facility-based exercise if they choose).

The rule clarifies that if any facility experiences an actual natural or man-made emergency that requires activation of their emergency plan, any provider is exempt from their next required full-scale community-based or facility-based exercise.

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