Guidance for Designing Health and Residential Care Facilities that Respond and Adapt to Emergency Conditions

The COVID-19 pandemic brought an influx of requests to FGI asking for practical guidance on setting up temporary facilities and adapting existing facilities to meet the needs of the pandemic. In response, the FGI Board of Directors formed a committee to take a critical look at existing Guidelines requirements and recommendations on emergency preparedness, determine best practices, and establish new minimum standards on emergency preparedness and response for health and residential care facilities. The intent was to provide a resource to help health and residential care organizations respond to emergency events and plan mitigation strategies in anticipation of future emergency events.

The resulting white paper has chapters on risk assessment; surge response; alternate care sites, including modular facilities; resiliency; renovation and future facility design; small and/or rural health care facilities; and residential care facilities. Included are temporary and long-term solutions for preparing health and residential care facilities to respond to emergency conditions; the content is informed both by lessons learned from previous local and national emergencies and practices implemented in the field in response to the pandemic. Accompanying the white paper is a downloadable compliance matrix created to help health and residential care organizations select alternate care sites based on the anticipated timeframe of an emergency and the building systems required to support patient and resident care.

The white paper concludes with the draft of the proposed Guidelines for Emergency Conditions in Health and Residential Care Facilities, which comprises new minimum standards for emergency preparedness based on the 2018 Hospital, Outpatient, and Residential Guidelines documents.

Guidance for Designing Health and Residential Care Facilities that Respond and Adapt to Emergency Conditions Alternate Care Site Compliance Matrix