Rule 3701-17-25 | Disaster preparedness, fire and carbon monoxide safety.
(A) Each operator shall provide, maintain, and keep current a written disaster preparedness plan to be followed in case of emergency or disaster. A copy of the plan shall be readily available at all times within the nursing home. The nursing home shall ensure that each staff member, consultant and volunteer is trained and periodically updated about the home's disaster preparedness plan and understands their role in the event of fire or other disaster or emergency. The plan shall include the following:
(1) Procedures for evacuating all individuals in the nursing home, including:
(a) Provisions for evacuating residents with physical or cognitive impairments;
(b) Provisions for transporting all of the residents of the nursing home to a predetermined appropriate facility or facilities that will accommodate all the residents in the event a disaster requires long-term evacuation of the nursing home; and
(c) A written transfer agreement, renewed biannually, with the appropriate facility or facilities for accommodating all of the residents of the nursing home in case of a disaster requiring evacuation of the nursing home;
(2) A plan for protection of all persons in the event of fire and when the fire alarm or sprinkler system is undergoing maintenance or inoperative, and procedures for fire control and evacuation, including a fire watch in accordance with rule 1301:7-7-09 of the Administrative Code.
(3) Procedures for locating missing residents, including notification of local law enforcement;
(4) Procedures for ensuring the health and safety of residents during severe weather situations, such as tornadoes and floods, and designation of tornado shelter areas in the home; and
(5) Procedures, as appropriate, for ensuring the health and safety of residents in nursing homes located in close proximity to areas known to have specific disaster potential, such as airports, chemical processing plants, and railroad tracks.
(B) Each operator shall conduct the following drills, unless the state fire marshal allows a home to vary from this requirement and the nursing home has written documentation to this effect from the state fire marshal:
(1) Twelve fire exit drills every year, approximately every three months on each shift to familiarize nursing home personnel with signals and emergency action required under varied times and conditions. Fire exit drills shall include the transmission of a fire alarm signal to the appropriate fire department or monitoring station, verification of receipt of that signal, and simulation of emergency fire conditions except that the movement of infirm and bedridden residents to safe areas or to the exterior of the structure is not required. Drills conducted between nine p.m. and six a.m. may use a coded announcement instead of an audible alarm. The nursing home shall reset the alarms after each drill; and
(2) At least two disaster preparedness drills per year, one of which shall be a tornado drill which shall occur during the months of March through July.
(C) Each operator shall keep a written record and evaluation of each conducted drill and practice which shall include the date, time, employee attendance, effectiveness of the plan, and training format used. This record shall be on file in the nursing home for three years.
(D) Each operator shall provide and post in a conspicuous place in each section and on each floor of the nursing home a correctly-oriented, wall-specific floor plan designating room use, locations of alarm sending stations, fire extinguishers, fire hoses, exits and flow of resident evacuation.
(E) Each operator shall provide for annual training in fire prevention for regularly scheduled staff members on all shifts, to be conducted by the state fire marshal or township, municipal, or local legally constituted fire department. The operator shall require all staff members to be periodically instructed in the home's fire control and evacuation and disaster procedures and kept informed of their duties under the evacuation plan.
(F) Each operator shall conduct at least monthly a fire safety inspection which shall be recorded on forms provided by the department and kept on file in the nursing home for three years.
(G) Each nursing home shall install and maintain carbon monoxide alarms or carbon monoxide detectors in accordance with manufacturer's directions. Carbon monoxide alarms shall be installed in the following locations:
(1) On the ceiling of each room containing a permanently installed fuel-burning appliance; and
(2) Centrally located on every habitable level and in every heating/ventilation/air conditioning zone of the building.
(H) Nursing homes licensed as such prior to the effective date of this rule have twelve months to come into compliance with paragraph (G) of this rule.
(I) For purposes of this rule:
(1) "Carbon monoxide alarm" means a single- or multiple-station alarm tested to underwriters laboratory standard 2034, that is intended for the purpose of detecting carbon monoxide gas and alerting occupants by a distinct audible signal comprising an assembly that incorporates a sensor, control components, and an alarm notification appliance in a single unit operated from a power source either located in the unit or obtained at the point of installation;
(2) "Carbon monoxide detector" means a device tested to underwriters laboratory standard 2075 that is intended to be connected to a carbon monoxide detection system for the purpose of detecting carbon monoxide gas and alerting occupants by a distinct and audible signal; and
(3) "Carbon monoxide detection system means" a system of devices that consists of a control panel and circuits arranged to monitor and annunciate the status of carbon monoxide detectors and to initiate the appropriate response to those signal.
Supplemental Information