Emergency Preparedness Plan Interpretive Guidance is here

As if the renumbering of the F-tag list and the update to the LSC K-tags wasn’t enough, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is throwing another set of numbers out there – E-tags. These tags will be related to Emergency Preparedness, and both health and safety inspectors and LSC surveyors will be able to cite under the new set of tags. Compliance with these Conditions will be assessed as appropriate during initial, recertification and complaint surveys.

As you are aware, your facility must be in compliance with the Emergency Preparedness Plan regulation by November 15, 2017, at which point surveyors will be checking for compliance with these requirements. Providers who have been waiting to fulfil this requirement until the Interpretive Guidance arrived are probably recognizing the depth of information that is required to be included in your facility’s EPP. The Interpretive Guidance shows how far CMS has gone from the requirement that nursing homes are used to related to “having a disaster plan.” There are now nearly 30 different E-tags that long term care providers can be cited under related to their emergency preparedness programs.

Here’s a quick look at the different buckets the E-tags are placed into that are relevant to long term care facilities:

E-tags for Long-Term Care Facility Emergency Preparedness Plans
Establishing a comprehensive emergency preparedness program
E-0001
E-0004
E-0006
E-0007
E-0009
Emergency preparedness policies & procedures
E-0013 E-0022
E-0015 E-0023
E-0018 E-0024
E-0019 E-0025
E-0020 E-0026
Emergency preparedness communication plan
E-0029 E-0034
E-0030 E-0035
E-0031
E-0032
E-0033
Emergency preparedness training & testing
E-0036
E-0037
E-0039
Emergency and standby power system requirements
E-0041
E-0042

 

Not quite sure you have the resources within your facility to take on your Emergency Preparedness Plan development, testing and training? CMS Compliance Group can help. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you with this November 2017 compliance requirement for nursing homes.

[contact-form-7 id=”4″ title=”Contact form 1″]


Reach out today and let's get started!

Urgent Compliance Concern? Call CMSCG

(631) 692-4422
cmscg podcast. five-star quality

Contact CMS Compliance Group

© 2011-2024 CMS Compliance Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy