| (5) provide the information described in subsection
(a)(5)(A) of this section to a resident or legally authorized representative
who does not receive an evacuation summary under paragraph (4) of
this subsection and requests that information;
(6) notify each resident, next of kin, or legally authorized
representative, in writing, how to register for evacuation assistance
with the Texas Information and Referral Network (2-1-1 Texas); and
(7) register as a provider with 2-1-1 Texas to assist
the state in identifying persons who may need assistance in a disaster
or emergency. In doing so, the facility is not required to identify
or register individual residents for evacuation assistance.
(e) Core Function One: Direction and Control. A facility's
plan must contain a section for direction and control that:
(1) designates the EPC, who is the facility staff person
with the responsibility and authority to direct, control, and manage
the facility's response to a disaster or emergency;
(2) designates an alternate EPC, who is the facility
staff person with the responsibility and authority to act as the EPC
if the EPC is unable to serve in that capacity; and
(3) assigns responsibilities to staff members by designated
function or position and describes the facility's system for ensuring
that each staff member clearly understands the staff member's own
role and how to execute it, in the event of a disaster or emergency.
(f) Core Function Two: Warning. A facility's plan must
contain a section for warning that:
(1) describes applicable procedures, methods, and responsibility
for the facility and for the EMC and other outside organizations,
based on facility coordination with them, to notify the EPC or alternate
EPC, as applicable, of a disaster or emergency;
(2) identifies who, including during off hours, weekends,
and holidays, the EPC or alternate EPC, as applicable, will notify
of a disaster or emergency, and the methods and procedures for notification;
(3) describes a procedure for keeping all persons present
in the facility informed of the facility's present plan for responding
to a potential or current disaster or emergency that is impacting
or threatening the area where the facility is located; and
(4) addresses applicable procedures, methods, and responsibility
for monitoring local news and weather reports regarding a disaster
or potential disaster or emergency, taking into consideration factors
such as:
(A) location-specific natural disasters;
(B) whether a disaster is likely to be addressed or
forecast in the reports; and
(C) the conditions, natural or otherwise, under which
designated staff become responsible for monitoring news and weather
reports for a disaster or emergency.
(g) Core Function Three: Communication. A facility's
plan must contain a section for communication that:
(1) identifies the facility's primary mode of communication
to be used during an emergency and the facility's supplemental or
alternate mode of communication, and procedures for communication
if telecommunication is affected by a disaster or emergency;
(2) includes instructions on when to call 911;
(3) includes the location of a list of current contact
information, where it is easily accessible to staff, for each of the
following:
(A) the legally authorized representative and designated
emergency contacts for each resident;
(B) each receiving facility and pre-arranged evacuation
destination, including alternate pre-arrangements, together with the
written acknowledgement for each, as described and required in subsection
(i)(2)(C) of this section;
(C) home and community support services agencies and
independent health care professionals that deliver health care services
to residents in the facility;
(D) personal contact information for facility staff,
and
(E) the facility's resident population, which must
identify residents who may need specialized assistance at the facility
or in case of evacuation, as described in subsection (c)(2)(C) of
this section;
(4) provides a method for the facility to communicate
information to the public about its status during an emergency; and
(5) describes the facility's procedure for notifying
at least the following persons, as applicable and as soon as practicable,
about facility actions affecting residents during an emergency, including
an impending or actual evacuation, and for maintaining ongoing communication
for the duration of the emergency or evacuation:
(A) all facility staff members, including off-duty
staff;
(B) each facility resident;
(C) any legally authorized representative of a resident;
(D) each resident’s designated emergency contacts;
(E) each home and community support services agency
or independent health care professional that delivers health care
services to a facility resident;
(F) each receiving facility or evacuation destination
to be utilized, if there is an impending or actual evacuation, which,
if utilized at the time of evacuation, must be utilized in accordance
with the pre-arranged acknowledged procedures described in subsection
(i)(2)(C) of this section, where applicable, and must verify with
the applicable destination that it is available, ready, and legally
authorized at the time to receive the evacuated residents and can
safely do so;
(G) the driver of a vehicle transporting residents
or staff, medication, records, food, water, equipment, or supplies
during an evacuation, and the employer of a driver who is not a facility
staff person, and
(H) the EMC.
(h) Core Function Four: Sheltering Arrangements. A
facility's plan must contain a section for sheltering arrangements
that:
(1) describes the procedure for making and implementing
a decision to remain in the facility during a disaster or emergency,
that includes:
(A) the arrangements, staff responsibilities, and procedures
for accessing and obtaining medication, records, equipment and supplies,
water and food, including food to accommodate an individual who has
a medical need for a special diet;
(B) facility arrangements and procedures for providing,
in areas used by residents during a disaster or emergency, power and
ambient temperatures that are safe under the circumstances, but which
may not be less than 68 degrees Fahrenheit or more than 82 degrees
Fahrenheit; and
(C) if necessary, sheltering facility staff or emergency
staff involved in responding to an emergency and, as necessary and
appropriate, their family members; and
(2) includes a procedure for notifying HHSC Regulatory
Services regional office for the area in which the facility is located
and, in accordance with subsection (g)(5)(H) of this section, the
EMC, immediately after the EPC or alternate EPC, as applicable, makes
a decision to remain in the facility during a disaster or emergency.
(i) Core Function Five: Evacuation.
(1) A facility has the discretion to determine when
an evacuation is necessary for the health and safety of residents
and staff. However, a facility must evacuate if the county judge of
the county in which the facility is located, the mayor of the municipality
in which the facility is located mandates it by an evacuation order
issued independently or concurrently with the governor.
(2) A facility's plan must contain a section for evacuation
that:
(A) identifies evacuation destinations and routes,
including at least each pre-arranged evacuation destination and receiving
facility described in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, and includes
a map that shows each identified destination and route;
(B) describes the procedure for making and implementing
a decision to evacuate some or all residents to one or more receiving
facilities or pre-arranged evacuation destinations, with contingency
procedures, and a plan for any pets or service animals that reside
in the facility;
(C) includes the location of a current documented acknowledgment
with an identified authorized representative of at least one receiving
facility or pre-arranged evacuation destination, and at least one
alternate. The documented acknowledgment must include acknowledgement
by the receiving facility or pre-arranged evacuation destination of:
(i) arrangements for the receiving facility or pre-arranged
destination to receive an evacuating facility's residents; and
Cont'd... |
