Emergency Preparedness Regulatory Guide for Administrators

Hospice Emergency Preparedness Regulations

• § 418.113 Condition of participation: Emergency preparedness
• Appendix Z EP for Health Care, CMS 
• NY State Home care and hospice EP DAL
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Emergency Preparedness Regulatory Guidance

The goals of Hospice Emergency Management Include:

• Ensure patient and staff safety during and following an emergency/disaster.
• Anticipate and plan for the needs of patients, staff, and community in an emergency/disaster.
• Be organized and respond rapidly to meet the challenges of emergencies/disasters.
• Integration with local public health, county emergency preparedness agencies, and health care coalitions in response activities.
• Rapidly recover following the disaster.
• Maintain continuity of patient care.
• Maintain the agency’s ability to operate.
• Maximize agency and community resources.

Emergency Preparedness standards are included in all surveys– complaint, initial, and triennial.

The Health Commerce System (HCS) Log on to the Health Commerce System (state.ny.us) serves as a newsroom for important information that providers need to mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and disasters. The Health Commerce System contains Dear Administrator Letters (DALs), Department of Health (DOH) Notifications and Advisories as well as educational opportunities.

The Health Commerce System also collects information (HERDS) utilized to identify health related problems such as emerging infections and determining provider staffing and equipment need. Perhaps most importantly, the Health Commerce System is used for notification of emergency situations through ihans alerts. To receive timely notifications, providers need to keep assigned roles in the Health Commerce System up to date.

These roles include:

• Administrator
• Director of Patient Services
• Clinical Services
• Emergency Response Coordinator
• Operator

Each agency must identify an HCS Coordinator. The person identified in this role assignment maintains all provider role assignments in the Health Commerce System.