The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a revised Quality & Safety Memo, providing additional guidance on emergency preparedness exercise requirements for healthcare facilities, including nursing homes. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency, many facilities continue to operate under activated emergency plans. As a result, CMS is allowing a one-year exemption from the requirement to perform testing exercises for facilities that have activated their emergency plans during or after an actual emergency. This exemption applies only to the next required full-scale exercise, not the exercise of choice, and is based on the facility's 12-month exercise cycle. Facilities must demonstrate, through written documentation, that they activated their emergency plan to be eligible for the exemption.

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