1. (a) Each facility shall have an individual or group, known as an emergency management committee, with the authority for developing, implementing, exercising, and evaluating the emergency management program.
2. (b) The emergency management committee shall include the facility administrator and others who have knowledge of the facility and the capability to identify resources from key functional areas within the facility and shall solicit applicable external representation, as appropriate.
3. (c) The emergency management committee shall develop and institute a written emergency preparedness plan to respond to a disaster or an emergency that shall be reviewed and updated at least annually.

4. (d) The emergency preparedness plan in (c) above shall:

   1. (1) Comply with all relevant federal, state, and local laws, rules, codes, and ordinances, as applicable;
   2. (2) Include site-specific plans for the protection of all persons on-site in the event of fire, natural disaster, severe weather, interruptions of any utility or services to the facility, and human-caused emergencies to include, but not be limited to, missing resident(s), bomb threat, and active shooter;
   3. (3) Be approved by the local emergency management director or local authority having jurisdiction, and reviewed and approved by the local authority having jurisdiction when a change to the plan causes significant material difference;
   4. (4) Be available to all personnel at all times;
   5. (5) Be based on realistic conceptual events;
   6. (6) Develop and implement strategies to prevent an incident that threatens life, property, and the environment of the facility to include measures to be taken to limit or control the consequences, extent, or severity or an incident that cannot be prevented;

   7. (7) Include the facility's response to both short-term and long-term interruptions in the availability of utility service in the disaster or emergency, including establishing contingency plans for continuity of essential building systems or evacuation to include the following, as applicable:

      1. a. Electricity;
      2. b. Potable water;
      3. c. Non-potable water;
      4. d. HVAC;
      5. e. Fire protection systems;
      6. f. Fuel required for building operations and essential transportation to include fuel loss, fuel spill, and fuel exposure that created a hazardous incident;
      7. g. Medical gas and vacuum systems, if applicable;
      8. h. Communications systems; and
      9. i. Essential services, such as kitchen and laundry services;

   8. (8) Include and maintain a communication plan that includes the following:

      1. a. Names and contact information for the following:

         1. 1. Staff;
         2. 2. Entities providing services under arrangement;
         3. 3. Resident’s licensed practitioner;
         4. 4. Other nearby facilities; and
         5. 5. Volunteers;

      2. b. Contact information for the following:

         1. 1. Federal, state, or local emergency preparedness staff;
         2. 2. The state licensing unit;
         3. 3. The office of the state long-term care ombudsman; and
         4. 4. Other sources of assistance;
      3. c. Primary and alternate means for communication with the facility’s staff and federal, state, or local emergency management agencies;
      4. d. A method for sharing information and medical documentation for the residents under the facility’s care, as necessary, with other health care providers to maintain the continuity of care; and
      5. e. A means of providing information about the facility’s occupancy, needs, and its ability to provide assistance to the authority having jurisdiction;

   9. (9) Include the management of residents, particularly with respect to physical and clinical issues to include:

      1. a. Relocation of residents with their medical record(s) including the medicine administration record(s), as detailed in the emergency plan;
      2. b. Access, as appropriate, to critical materials such as pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, food supplies, linen supplies, and industrial and potable water; and
      3. c. How to provide security during the disaster;
   10. (10) Reflect measures needed to restore operational capability with consideration of fiscal aspects because of restoration costs and possible cash flow losses associated with the disruption;

   11. (11) Plans for the provision of subsistence needs for staff and residents, whether they evacuate or shelter in place, to include, but not be limited to the following:

       1. a. Food, water, medical, and pharmaceutical supplies calculated for the maximum number of staff and residents;
       2. b. Source of water support, either tap or commercial;
       3. c. Expiration dates, tracking of supplies, and rotation of products;
       4. d. Contracts and memorandums of understanding with food and water suppliers;
       5. e. Storage location(s);
       6. f. Back-up supplies; and

       7. g. Alternate sources of emergency power to maintain:

          1. 1. Temperatures to protect resident health and safety and for the safe and sanitary storage of provisions;
          2. 2. Emergency lighting;
          3. 3. Fire detection, extinguishing, and alarm systems; and
          4. 4. Sewage and waste disposal; and
   12. (12) If the facility is located within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant and is part of the New Hampshire radiological emergency response plan (RERP), include the required elements of the RERP.
   13. (d) The facility shall develop and maintain emergency preparedness training for all staff, individuals providing services under arrangement, and volunteers which shall include:
   14. (1) Initial emergency preparedness training upon hire consistent with roles and specific duties and responsibilities during an emergency;
   15. (2) Provide emergency preparedness training at least annually;
   16. (3) Maintain documentation of the training; and
   17. (4) Demonstrate staff knowledge and competency of emergency procedures.

5. (e) The facility shall conduct and document exercises to test the emergency preparedness plan at least twice per year that includes the following:

   1. (1) Participation in an annual full-scale exercise that is community-based. When a community-based exercise is not accessible, conduct an annual individual, facility-based functional exercise. If the facility experiences and documents an actual natural or man-made emergency that requires the activation of the emergency plan, the facility is exempt from engaging in another full-scale community-based or individual, facility-based functional exercise following the onset of the emergency event;

   2. (2) Conduct an additional annual exercise that may include, but is not limited to, the following:

      1. a. A second full-scale exercise that is community-based or an individual, facility-based functional exercise;
      2. b. A mock disaster drill; or
      3. c. A tabletop exercise or workshop that is led by a facilitator that includes a group discussion, using a narrated, clinically relevant emergency scenario, and a set of problem statements, directed messages, or prepared questions designed to challenge an emergency plan; and
   3. (3) Analyze the facility's response to and maintain documentation of all drills, tabletop exercises, and emergency events, and revise the facility's emergency plan, as needed.

Source. #10813, eff 4-21-15; ss by #14358, eff 8-28-25, EXPIRES: 8-28-35 (formerly He-P 805.26)