Adding to myriad other power-supply rules for senior living communities and nursing homes around the country, 120 Harris County, Texas, assisted living communities and nursing homes are now required to install backup power generators to maintain heating and cooling systems during electrical outages.
But senior living groups say that was news to them.
Harris County became the first Texas county to implement a backup generator mandate on its long-term care facilities. The mandate comes amid the recent release of a report from Harris County Public Health on how heat-related illness during Houston’s summer months is on the rise.
The county fire marshal used information from that report to make proposed changes to the fire code, which were adopted last month by the Harris County Commissioners Court, according to ABC 13. The mandate affects the unincorporated area of Harris County — the most populous in Texas — which excludes Houston but is home to more than 2.5 million Texans, according to the Texas Assisted Living Association
TALA President and CEO Diana Martinez told McKnight’s Senior Living that the association was made aware of the “unprecedented change” to the Harris County fire code after the fact. Martinez said the language relating to backup power requirements was “buried” near the back of a technical update and passed without discussion by the county and without input from those the requirements impact.
The effects of a mandate
The mandate requires all assisted living communities and nursing facilities to have a generator or fuel cell to maintain power to heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for all areas occupied by residents or patients, in addition to other building systems, devices and equipment, Martinez said.
“The type and size of generator equipment needed to comply with this one line has enormous fiscal and environmental impacts,” she said. “Generators are not one-time expenses — equipment must be maintained, inspected, tested and fueled.”
Building considerations exist as well, she said, among them rewiring bedrooms and kitchens, installing transfer switches, obtaining permits and installing diesel tanks to fuel the equipment, pouring concrete pads for generators, and ensuring that the new electrical equipment and field are not at risk for floor or hurricane damage.
“The wording of the mandate is especially problematic because it seems to require all systems to be on the same backup source and to eliminate batteries as a backup option,” Martinez said.
TALA, she added, has been working with members of the Texas Legislature on strengthening and improving existing back-up power regulations. Martinez said that approach will result in fair and consistent regulations that consider the limits and capabilities of different providers.
Current Texas emergency preparedness regulations require communities to maintain power and ambient temperatures in areas used by residents during a disaster or emergency.
“Assisted living communities employ a whole host of ways to comply with the regulation,” Martinez said. “Severe weather events in Texas have demonstrated that they are keeping their residents safe time and time again.”
TALA is gathering information, engaging experts, alerting affected communities, and contacting the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and elected officials for interpretation and guidance, she noted.
County officials said that facilities have until Jan. 1, 2026, to comply with the new requirements but added that it would be flexible, as some facilities could face delays securing permits or generators, according to the nonprofit newsroom Houston Landing.
Among the questions TALA has is whether the mandate will affect state licensing of facilities, each of which must pass an annual fire inspection to maintain an operating license. The Harris County fire code also defines assisted living differently than the state does; the county defines an assisted living community as serving 16 or more occupants, whereas the state puts the number of residents at four or more.
Natural disasters fuel interest
Although nursing homes already are required by state law to have backup generators to power safety features, assisted living communities have not been required to have them. Interest in backup power requirements resurfaced following several natural disasters in Texas.
Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall in July, caused 28 deaths among Texas older adults, half from overheating, according to AARP Texas. Winter Storm Uri in 2021 led to the deaths of 107 Texas older adults from hypothermia.
Bills introduced in the Texas Legislature in 2021 and 2023 to require backup power at all assisted living communities did not move forward. Last month, AARP Texas advocated for legislation that would require assisted living communities to have adequate backup power to help maintain safe temperatures during a power outage. Florida and Maryland have adopted stricter laws for facilities.
In the wake of Uri in 2021, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission surveyed 2,025 assisted living communities and 1,217 nursing facilities and found that the ability to provide cooling and heating during a power outage varied widely. Among assisted living communities, 47% reported having generators, but of those, only 56% said they could provide cooling, and 59% said they could provide heating.
Generator requirements in other states
Hurricane Irma prompted Florida to pass backup power legislation for assisted living communities and nursing homes in 2018. Twelve nursing home residents had died of environmental heat exposure during the 2017 hurricane.
Other states also have similar laws. For instance, Virginia passed a law in 2019 that requires assisted living communities to maintain adequately sized emergency generators or to accept mobile generators. Oregon requires assisted living communities offering ventilator-assisted care to have functional emergency backup generators. And Maryland requires assisted living communities to have emergency electrical power generators on site.
In 2023, the US Senate Finance Committee and Senate Special Committee on Aging recommended that states consider emergency power requirements for assisted living and other residential care settings, as well as better emergency communications between assisted living communities and nursing homes and state and local authorities. Those recommendations followed the release of an investigative report, “Left in the Dark,” that looked at how assisted living communities and nursing facilities weathered blackouts wrought by Winter Storm Uri.
Source: McKnights Seniorliving
Be First to Comment