CMS Publishes Final Rule on Fire Safety Requirements for Certain Health Care Facilities
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a final rule that updates health care facilities’ fire protection guidelines to improve protections for all Medicare beneficiaries in facilities from fire. The new guidelines apply to:
- Hospitals
- Long term care facilities
- Critical access hospitals
- Inpatient hospice facilities
- Programs for all inclusive care for the elderly
- Religious non-medical healthcare institutions
- Ambulatory surgical centers
- Intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities
This rule adopts updated provisions of the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 2012 edition of the Life Safety Code (LSC) as well as provisions of the NFPA’s 2012 edition of the Health Care Facilities Code. The LSC is a compilation of fire safety requirements for new and existing buildings and is updated every three years. Currently CMS is using the 2000 edition of the LSC to survey for health and safety compliance. With this rule, CMS is adopting provisions of the 2012 edition of the LSC and provisions of the 2012 edition of the Health Care Facilities Code to bring CMS’ requirements more up to date. In addition, the 2012 edition of the NFPA’s Health Care Facilities Code gives more detailed provisions specific to different types of health care facilities.
Health care facilities affected by this rule must comply with all regulations by July 5, 2016, unless otherwise specified in the final rule.
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