NFPA Releases New Resource for Meeting CMS Mandate
A new CMS rule requires the development of an emergency plan, policy, and procedure; communication plan; and a method to train staff and evaluate facilities about the plan, he wrote, and it specifies additional criteria for emergency and standby power requirements for certain health care facilities.
To help health care organizations meet new U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements for emergency preparedness, the National Fire Protection Association has created a searchable resource that helps users find the information they need that is specific to their facility. A table lists 17 provider types and connects them to the six main subjects covered in the CMS final rule, Robert Solomon wrote in a post on the NFPA blog.
CMS adopted the 2012 editions of NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code, and NFPA 101 Life Safety Code int May and then issued another important regulation involving NFPA codes and standards. Published in September, the Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid Participating Providers and Suppliers final rule sets in place new requirements for entities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement programs, requiring providers to develop a risk assessment based on an all hazards disaster or emergency scenario, with a planning component that will help them deal with such an event. The rule requires the development of an emergency plan, policy, and procedure; communication plan; and a method to train staff and evaluate facilities about the plan, he wrote, and it specifies additional criteria for emergency and standby power requirements for certain health care facilities.
The new requirements are based on catastrophic events such as the September 11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and "Superstorm" Sandy.
The new requirements go into effect Nov. 15, 2016, and the implementation date is a year later, on Nov. 15, 2017, Solomon explained.