Citing Hurricane Sandy as an example of damaging power outages, a piece of legislation in New Jersey requiring health facilities to be generator ready has been signed into law. Law A-1341, signed into legislation on December 9, 2015 requires that certain healthcare facilities be either equipped with an emergency generator or be equipped with an electrical transfer switch and wiring that will allow a portable generator to be connected to it for back-up electrical power. New Jersey healthcare facilities that must have generators or the ability to be connected to a backup generator include:
- Nursing homes
- Assisted living facilities
- Comprehensive personal care homes
- Pediatric community transitional homes
- Federally qualified health centers
- Dialysis centers
- Hospice in-patient care
- Residential health care centers connected to another licensed healthcare facility
Generators at these facilities will need to be capable of supporting all of these items for a minimum of 24 hours:
- Critical life support equipment
- Medication refrigeration
- Lighting for all means of egress, exit signs and exit directional signs
- Emergency lighting in common areas
- Backup communications equipment
- Elevator service if required for relocation of patients/residents within the facility or evacuation
- Fire, smoke and other safety detection alarm systems
- Emergency lighting and power required for the generator at the generator connection point
- If installed:
- Fire pump, well pump or sump pump
- Sewerage pump
Facilities have three years to put this into place, and inspections may be conducted for compliance. Facilities with on-site generators will be required to maintain records and logs of extensive testing. To assist with funding for the generators, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority has created a low-interest loan program called the Generator Loan Fund. Read more here.
Do you need assistance from a facilities management/Life Safety Code consultant to ensure you are compliant with regulations? CMS Compliance Group can help. Contact us now to learn more.