Photo courtesy APNews. After 850 nursing home patients were evacuated to a warehouse in Tangipahoa Parish during Hurricane Ida in 2021, the Louisiana Department of Health assists with their relocation.
Two bills to ensure the safety of nursing home patients during natural disasters pass unanimously in Senate Health and Welfare. Senate Bill 33 requires all long-term care facilities to have generator power. Mark Berger, Executive Director of the Louisiana Nursing Home Association said while most facilities have generators large enough to support their heating and cooling systems…
“We believe that it is time for those nursing homes that don’t have that capability to join their peers,” said Berger.
In Senate Bill 33, the generator must be permanently installed and large enough to power the life safety systems, electrical components of the water and sewer systems, medication and refrigeration systems, heating and cooling, and other specific functions of the facility. They must also have enough fuel to support the generator for at least seven days. Berger estimates approximately 25 facilities do not meet the standards outlined in the bill.
If a nursing home facility fails to comply with the new generator standards, St. Martin Parish Senator Fred Mills’ bill could result in loss of certification from the department of health.
“Most of the time and I’m not speaking for the department, but the department really tries working with their providers, but I’m sure if somebody is just neglecting the law there could be a potential revocation of that license,” said Mills.
The generator legislation, along with Senate Bill 167 which tasks the State Fire Marshal’s Office with the inspection of nursing home evacuation plans was created after 15 patients died during a mass evacuation to a warehouse in Tangipahoa Parish during Hurricane Ida. Covington Senator Patrick McMath applauds the bill.
“This was born out of a very tragic incident and the vast majority of nursing home operators act responsibly and I think we can all agree on that. But I do think it’s a good move to put this with the State Fire Marshal,” said McMath.
State Marshal Butch Browning also addressed lawmakers and voiced his support of Senator Kirk Talbot’s bill in which his office would be tasked with reviewing and inspecting annual evacuation plans.
“We also feel that doing these things makes our emergency job a lot easier,” said Browning.
Both bills advance to the Senate.
Comments