Many nursing homes across the country aren’t prepared for power outages, according to a federal audit, putting residents at risk. Meanwhile, roughly 73% of the nation’s 15,000-plus nursing homes are running on inadequate or unreliable emergency power systems.
This is according to a review conducted by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), which also found that nearly 40% of nursing homes have generators that don’t supply sufficient power to essential areas, while more than half may not properly maintain their generators. And, about 10% of nursing homes rely on generators that are 40 years old or older, OIG found.
Auditors recommended that federal regulators share these findings with nursing homes and stress the importance of maintaining reliable emergency power systems. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) agreed with this recommendation.
“CMS also noted that, in 2023, it released a memo addressing Health Care Microgrid Systems that reminded health care facilities that they are required to have a normal electrical power source and an alternate emergency power source provided to certain patient care rooms, equipment and systems by an essential electric system, where the loss of normal power is likely to result in injury or death,” OIG reported.
An emergency electrical power system must supply power to light all entrances and exits, and provide equipment to maintain fire detection, alarm and extinguishing systems, according to federal law. Life support systems are also required in the event that normal electrical supply is interrupted, and operators need to establish policies and procedures on heating and cooling their facility if they lose power during an emergency.
Operators in Oklahoma and New York spoke about these policies and procedures following January’s winter storm impacting 24 states.
OIG was prompted to investigate after recent disasters including Hurricane Ida when residents died after being moved to unsafe conditions following widespread power loss in Louisiana. Winter storm Uri also left more than 100 Texas nursing homes without electricity.
Such events raise concerns about whether operators have dependable emergency power systems in place, the agency watchdog said.
OIG examined 100 nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid, discovering that 72 of them had at least one deficiency related to emergency power systems, with a total of 119 issues. Problems were linked to limited resources, frequent turnover among management and staff, which can disrupt power maintenance and oversight.
Facilities with multiple deficiencies highlighted systemic weaknesses rather than isolated problems, OIG said.
Shortcomings in emergency preparedness increases the risk of harm during power outages, OIG said, as residents depend on electricity for critical medical equipment, climate control and basic safety.
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