All 16,000 of the nation’s long-term care (LTC) facilities will have to install full sprinkler systems if they wish to continue to serve Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, under a new regulation to be issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Facilities will have a five-year phase-in period to fully comply with the new rule.
As an interim step taken prior to publication of this rule, CMS in March 2005 began requiring all LTC facilities that did not have sprinklers to install battery-operated smoke alarms in all patient rooms and public areas. Although fatal fires in nursing homes are rare, in a July 2004 report, the Government Accountability Office estimated that automatic sprinkler systems can decrease the chance of fire-related deaths by 82 percent.
All new sprinkler systems installed as a result of this rule will have to meet National Fire Protection Association technical specifications. To be in compliance with the new rule, nursing homes must have sprinkler coverage in all areas such as resident rooms; kitchen, dining and activity areas; corridors; attics; canopies; overhangs; offices; waiting areas; closets; storage areas for trash and linen; and maintenance areas. Read the press release.
