Nursing home evacuation plans.
OBJECTIVE
I examined evacuation plans from 2134 nursing homes and analyzed national data to determine the types of nursing homes cited for deficiencies in their evacuation plans.


METHODS
Evacuation plans were assessed according to criteria developed by an expert panel funded by the Office of the Inspector General. Deficiency citations came from the Online Survey, Certification, and Recording database, collected from 1997 to 2005. Four specific citations, for written emergency plans, staff training, written evacuation plans, and fire drills, were examined with multivariate logistic regression.


RESULTS
Most plans had water supply provisions (96%). Only 31% specified an evacuation route. The rate of citations was relatively stable throughout the study period: each year approximately 0.6% of facilities were found to be deficient in written emergency plans, 2.1% in staff training, 1.2% in written evacuation plans, and 7.9% in fire drills.


CONCLUSIONS
Some nursing homes need more specific evacuation plans. Water supply was the most and evacuation routes were the least well-addressed areas.
Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, 130 DeSoto St, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. castlen@Pitt.edu
Nicholas G
NG
Castle
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration; D010934:Planning Techniques; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012637:Security Measures / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology