The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department Health and Human Services has released a report titled, “Nursing Home Emergency Preparedness and Response During Recent Hurricanes.”
OIG reviewed 20 nursing homes for the study. According to the report, 94 percent of nursing homes met government guidelines for emergency plans, and 80 percent met guidelines for sufficient emergency training in 2004-2005.
However, nursing homes didn’t always follow the plans. For example, 5 of the 20 deviated from their emergency plans for various reasons. In some cases, there was a lack of coordination between state and local emergency entities.
OIG recommended that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services strengthen certification standards for nursing home emergency plans by developing a “core set of required elements” and encourage better communication between government entities and nursing homes.
For more information about the report, see “Study of Nursing Home Disasters in Last Year’s Hurricanes Recommends Changes.”
You may download the 48-page report here (PDF).
