Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP
Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare®

CMS issued Transmittal 186 – Revisions to State Operations Manual (SOM) Appendix Z, Emergency Preparedness for All Provider and Certified Supplier Types on March 4, 2019.   The first 2 pages of this 53-page document provide summary of changes, revised chapter/section/subsection, etc. with the remaining pages being Appendix Z. Look for the red font verbiage to locate the specific changes.

The full version of the Appendix Z – updated March 4, 2019 is 75 pages. As of this writing, I have not been able to determine why the difference in number of pages.

“SUMMARY OF CHANGES: We are making minor revisions to Appendix Z to correct errors and changes in citation numbers as reflected in the table below. We’ve also added areas of clarification to E-0015 related to use of alternate source power and changes to the citations for Home Health Agencies (HHAs).

NEW/REVISED MATERIAL – EFFECTIVE DATE: March 4, 2019                                                      IMPLEMENTATION: March 4, 2019”

If you haven’t read my February 6th blog – Emergency Preparedness Updates to Appendix Z, I encourage you to take a look at that as well.

Note that these changes are effective and are to be implemented at the time the Transmittal was posted.