DOH Issues Emergency Preparedness Reminders for Nursing Homes and ACFs
(June 17, 2025) Nursing home and adult care facility (ACF) members should note two emergency preparedness-related reminders recently issued by the Department of Health (DOH):
Emergency Preparedness Reminder DAL
On June 11th, DOH issued a Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) reminding nursing homes of minimum disaster and emergency preparedness requirements outlined in regulation at 10 NY Codes, Rules, and Regulations (NYCRR) § 415.26(f) and ACFs of requirements outlined at 18 NYCRR § 487.12 (adult homes), 18 NYCRR § 488.12 (enriched housing programs), and 10 NYCRR § 1001.14 (assisted living residences). The DAL also notes the availability of setting-specific Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) templates and training to facilitate CEMP completion on the DOH Learning Management System (LMS), as well as information and trainings regarding the NYS Evacuation of Facilities in Disasters Systems (eFINDS), the Department’s statewide role-based emergency location tracking system to be used in the event of a facility evacuation. The Department states that due to recent emergency events at long-term care facilities, they will be reviewing facilities’ CEMP and eFINDS competencies through their quality assurance and surveillance processes.
Facilities should note the availability of an on-demand recorded training on the LMS that provides best practices and suggestions to assist in navigating emergency preparedness. DOH also encourages facilities to ensure that their mutual aid agreements for location and transportation are current at all times and are reflective of residents’ current transportation assistance levels. Lastly, the DAL reminds facilities that there are certain Health Commerce System (HCS) roles that are regulatorily required, including a 24/7 contact populated with a mobile phone number – not the facility’s landline – to ensure their ability to make and receive calls in emergencies and/or during times of suboptimal telephone and/or internet connectivity.
Questions about emergency preparedness may be sent to the DOH Office of Health Emergency Preparedness (OHEP) at ohep@health.ny.gov, while questions specific to the DAL may be directed to nhinfo@health.ny.gov or acfinfo@health.ny.gov.
Critical Asset Survey Reminder
In a separate communication sent on June 13th, DOH reminded nursing homes and ACFs of their requirement to review and update their Critical Asset Survey (CAS) data on the HCS:
All Nursing Homes and Adult Care Facilities are required to review and update their CAS data to ensure it is accurate and up to date. Accurate CAS data is essential for real-time situational awareness and effective emergency response at the state level.
If your facility has not yet reviewed and updated its CAS, please do so as soon as possible.
Reminder!! The CAS within the Health Electronic Response Data System (HERDS) on the HCS shifted to a "Save and Submit" only format. Facilities will no longer be able to keep the survey in a draft status. This will ensure that all data is current and available when needed for review or during an event. Facilities may need to adjust how they are updating the CAS so any updates are complete and seamless.
Recommendations:
- Submit often as you are updating, there is no limit to the number of "saves"
- Print the PDF version of the survey data for review prior to entering updates. Please pay special attention to areas with multiple "save & add" areas (e.g. generators)
- Ensure that ALL required fields are updated prior to submitting, this will limit potential errors on the form
- When reviewing and updating, there may be a need to reach out to MULTIPLE departments or individuals for information. Please plan appropriately for this to ensure a timely submission of data
- ALWAYS ensure that the "attestation/confirmation of data accuracy" reflects the date the survey was updated