Beginning on November 15, 2017, health surveyors will begin assessing compliance with the new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) emergency preparedness requirements during their regular certification and recertification surveys. The rule became effective on November 15, 2016 and providers have had one year to become compliant.
This impacts the following 17 facility types:
1. Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs)
2. Clinics, Rehabilitation Agencies, and Public Health Agencies as Providers of Outpatient Physical Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology Services (Orgs)
3. Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs)
4. Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (CORFs)
5. Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs)
6. End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)
7. Home Health Agencies (HHAs)
8. Hospices
9. Hospitals
10. Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID)
11. Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities
12. Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs)
13. Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
14. Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs)
15. Religious Nonmedical Health Care Institutions (RNHCIs)
16. Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
17. Transplant Centers
The following resources are available to you in preparing for compliance:
- CMS online emergency preparedness training, available 24/7, 365 days a year at https://surveyortraining.cms.hhs.gov/pubs/CourseMenu.aspx?cid=0CMSEmPrep_ONL
- To view the final rule, please visit https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/09/16/2016-21404/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-emergency-preparedness-requirements-for-medicare-and-medicaid
- To view a list and links to resources contained in the CMS proposed rule, visit https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/emergency-preparedness-rule-provider-resources
- To view a list of health care coalitions in Colorado, go to: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/health-care-coalitions
- For answers to frequently asked questions, visit CMS' Survey and Certification Page at https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertEmergPrep/
- For templates and guidance and personalized telephone support, visit the ASPR TRACIE healthcare emergency preparedness information gateway at ASPRtracie.hhs.gov .
If you have additional questions about the regulations, please contact Melanie Roth at Melanie.Roth-Lawson@state.co.us or 303-692-2819.
This blog publishes information typically sent to users of the Colorado Health Facilities Interactive (COHFI) system for health care entities regulated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Please note that COHFI is the official medium for business communication between the Department and licensed and/or Medicare/Medicaid certified health care entities. Health care entities should continue to monitor their email accounts routinely.
