Florida Nursing Home Generator Requirements

Florida's Devastating 2017 Hurricane Season
The 2017 hurricane season ended with 17 storms that were named and 10 of those becoming hurricanes. Six of those reached Category 3 strength. Irma became a tropical Storm on August 30, 2017 and reached Category 5 strength winds on September 5, 2017. It reached the Florida Keys on September 10 as a Category 4 storm with 130-mph winds and over a ten foot tidal surge. This storm is on the record for being the most active storm to hit Florida in September.

Approximately 1 1/2 weeks after the hurricane made landfall, power had not been completely restored. Robert Gould, vice president and chief communications officer of Florida Power and Light said "We understand what it means to be hot and without air conditioning. We will be restoring power day and night."

New Regulations for Assisted Living Facilities Requires an Emergency Power Generator
For those senior citizens living in retirement, assisted living or nursing homes discomfort moved to distress. This was just not about comfort but insuring safety as well. Some issues faced by these seniors were:

• Air Conditioning - Temperature reaching the mid-90s with no indoor air circulation.
• Refrigeration - All perishable medicine and foods either not usable or reaching limits.
• Magnetic Door Locks - Doors will not unlock or lock as designed.
• Fire Suppression and Medical Emergency Equipment - No power and batteries either running low or totally discharged.
• Assisted Bed Lifts - No backup power to run.

Lack of power after Hurricane Irma resulted in the deaths of eight nursing home patients. On Sept 16, 2017 Governor Rick Scott announced new rules requiring assisted living facilities and nursing homes to install emergency generators. These generators must supply enough power to HVAC systems to maintain comfortable interior temperatures for a period of 96 hours after a utility power failure.

Secretaries of two state agencies issued rules from the Governor's office in order to change the requirements for Florida's hospitals.  The Governor said "During emergencies, health-care facilities must be fully prepared to ensure the health, safety and well-being of those in their care, and there is absolutely no excuse not to protect life."  Failure to comply with these requirements will result in fines up to $1,000.00 per day and possible revocation of license. One nursing home that could not provide cooling because of a failed transformer, was evacuated, is under criminal investigation and has been blocked from admitting new patients.

Details on the new regulation requiring facilities to have a generator are still being ironed out, for more info you can get an update from the Orlando Sentinel.The Florida Heath Care Association site also has specifics details on the law and specifications surrounding it can be found on the FHCA site.

Generators Being Shipped to Florida as Facilities Prepare While the emergency generator requirement has not passed into law yet and may have revisions, many facilities recognize the need for redundant power and are moving forward with purchasing an on-site backup power system.

Generator Source recently sold and shipped numerous generators  to facilities in Florida.  We can provide assistance to facility managers and operators in selecting the appropriate generator and also consult on any additional equipment you may need like Automatic Transfer Switches. We just recently delivered 10  low-hour used generators to various nursing homes in Florida, here's a few examples:

• 500 kW Cummins
• 800 kW Baldor
• 300 kW Generac
• Two 500 kW Baldor
• 400 kW Baldor.

With over 35 years of experience we stand ready to supply all of your emergency power requirements. Our skilled technical staff can help you select the generator to fit your needs, no matter how big or small. Contact us at 800-853-2073.

administrator | 1/3/2018 2:16:52 PM | 0 comments