Severe Weather

Quality, Safety & Oversight Group- Emergency Preparedness General Guidance

Guidance for Surveyors, Providers and Suppliers for Natural Disaster Preparedness

SEVERE WEATHER

Providers and suppliers, as well as State Survey Agencies and Regional Offices often face unique challenges regarding emergency preparedness. Severe weather, such as winter storms, tropical storm systems, hail, severe thunderstorms, flash floods, are fairly common in most regions and require preparedness.

The Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid Participating Providers and Suppliers regulation speaks to requirements for providers and suppliers to use an “all-hazards” approach based on their facilities risk-assessment. Severe weather, especially winter storm planning, is a critical natural disaster to consider within planning and preparedness efforts.

Similarly to other natural disaster which may cause a variety of hazards, such as care-related emergencies, equipment and power failures, and more; severe weather also has extended implications and may cause transportation challenges for some areas. Functional healthcare systems are therefore critical as hazardous conditions may lead to a variety of healthcare emergencies and mass surge influx of patients dependent on the duration of the severe weather. Additionally, residents may seek shelter in certain healthcare environments based on loss of power.