October 27, 2026. A nursing home’s assurance that it has an evacuation plan is only the beginning of the conversation. Families need to know where a resident will go, how the resident will get there, and who will provide care if roads, power, or telephone service fail. Those answers should reflect the resident’s actual medical needs.
KFF Health News’s September investigation of nursing-home flood risk raises those questions nationally. In Louisiana, state law and federal regulations supply a more specific starting point: approved plans, written evacuation and transportation arrangements, emergency power, and documented procedures for keeping residents safe. This guide explains the records behind those obligations and the questions a family can take to an administrator.
Start with the approved plan and its latest annual review
Louisiana R.S. 40:2009.25 requires nursing-home emergency plans to identify primary and secondary evacuation sites, written arrangements supporting those destinations, transportation, staffing, and emergency electrical power. Its coastal and noncoastal parish provisions together cover the state. The statute assigns implementation and execution of the plan to the nursing home.
Ask for the date of the plan currently in effect, LDH’s approval letter, and the latest annual review or signed attestation. Under subsection E, annual review is due by October 31. If no changes are needed, the required signed attestation is due to the designated agencies by November 1. An attestation may be used for no more than four consecutive years; a full plan must then be submitted. Necessary changes also require a full updated submission under the statutory process.
An older approval date therefore does not, standing alone, establish that the facility missed its annual review. The question is whether the approved plan, subsequent changes, and current review record fit together. Ask which documents govern today and whether LDH required corrections.
LAC 48:I.9767, in the state’s October 2026 code compilation (Word document), requires a plan specific to the facility and both evacuation and shelter-in-place procedures. Each must be activated at least annually, either in an emergency or a planned drill. Separately, 42 C.F.R. §483.73 requires participating long-term-care facilities to maintain an emergency program based on facility and community risks, with annual review, staff training, and exercises.
The records and questions that matter
Use this table to organize a meeting or written request. A document may be held by more than one office. The listed record holder is a useful starting point, not a guarantee that every document or every portion will be released.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns. Use the arrow keys when the table is focused.
| Issue | What to ask for or discuss | Starting point and authority |
|---|---|---|
| Destination | Names and street addresses of the primary and secondary sites; signed receiving-site agreements; capacity and staffing arrangements if several homes evacuate together. | Facility administrator; copies in agency plan files. R.S. 40:2009.25(C), (D), (E), (H); LAC 48:I.9767(C). |
| Transportation | Primary and backup written arrangements, vehicle capacity, temperature controls, loading assistance, and the resident’s need for an ambulance or accessible vehicle. | Administrator or emergency coordinator. LAC 48:I.9767(C)(1)(i)–(k). |
| Medication and care | Who takes the current medication list, orders, necessary supplies, oxygen and equipment; who administers treatment during transport and at the destination. | Director of nursing and the resident’s care team. 42 C.F.R. §483.73(b); LAC 48:I.9767(C). |
| Power and temperature | Systems served by backup power, fuel arrangements, testing records, and any approved waiver and replacement plan. Ask about the receiving site too. | Administrator; LDH for approval records. R.S. 40:2009.24; 42 C.F.R. §483.73(e); LAC 48:I.9767(D). |
| Family notification | A named contact, alternate telephone number, destination updates, and arrangements when normal communications fail. | Administrator and social services. 42 C.F.R. §483.73(c); LAC 48:I.9767(C), (F). |
| Returning after evacuation | Damage inspection, reopening request, LDH determination, and any surveys or corrective work required before residents return. | Facility and LDH Health Standards Section. LAC 48:I.9767(G). |
Check the destination, including an unlicensed sheltering site
If the proposed destination is another nursing home, start with LDH’s nursing-facility resources and confirm its legal name, address, and license status. Ask how many evacuees it expects, whether other facilities have agreements with it, and how staffing, beds, medications, and power will support the combined population. A signed agreement is useful evidence of an arrangement; it does not answer every question about capacity during a regional disaster.
Louisiana law expressly allows an evacuation plan to identify a nonlicensed sheltering site. The word “unlicensed” does not by itself make that destination unlawful. It does mean a family should ask for the approvals and inspections applicable to a shelter, rather than assuming the building has been licensed as a nursing home.
R.S. 40:2009.25(H) provides for inspections by LDH, the State Fire Marshal, and the local emergency-preparedness office. LAC 48:I.9767(D) adds requirements concerning shelter approvals, accessibility, sleeping space, sanitation, food, backup power, and other services. Request the latest inspection dates, findings, required corrections, and approval records for the particular address.
Under LAC 48:I.9767(F)(3), a nursing home ordinarily may remain at an unlicensed sheltering site for up to five days. It may request one extension of up to 15 additional days, subject to LDH approval and the rule’s conditions. That is not an automatic 20-day permission. Ask what happens if the original building cannot reopen and an extension is denied.
Match transportation and care to the resident
A transportation contract should be considered alongside the resident’s current condition. A resident who needs oxygen, a lift, complex medication, or close supervision may require arrangements different from those appropriate for another resident. Ask the care team to explain the planned vehicle, loading assistance, accompanying staff, equipment, and handoff at the receiving site.
The state rule calls for an executable transportation plan sufficient for the resident census and staff, including primary and secondary written transportation arrangements and temperature-controlled vehicles. Ask what happens if the first provider is delayed or is serving several homes. Avoid making a last-minute family pickup plan without coordinating the resident’s care, medications, destination, and discharge or leave arrangements with the facility.
Federal regulations require continuity arrangements, essential supplies, resident tracking, and medical documentation that remains available while protecting confidentiality. A family member’s authority to obtain a resident’s medical records is a separate question from public access to an agency’s files. Our guide to nursing-home records after a fall explains why the care plan, medication record, and contemporaneous clinical notes can matter when care is disputed.
Ask what backup power actually supports
R.S. 40:2009.24 addresses the systems that an approved alternate power source must support, including patient-care equipment, medication refrigeration, water and sewer components, and temperature control. It distinguishes facilities built or approved for construction before August 1, 2022 from facilities approved for construction and built on or after that date.
The statute specifies 48 or 72 hours of full-load fuel capacity, depending on the applicable construction category, and fuel-delivery agreements extending operation to a total of 168 hours for an emergency event. It also permits a limited waiver for certain older facilities, with an annually approved resident-safety plan. Ask which requirements apply, what the generator powers, and whether an approved waiver exists. “We have a generator” is not a complete explanation.
Understand what families can obtain
Separate three requests. First, ask the nursing home to explain how its emergency plan protects this resident. Second, seek existing agency records from the office that holds them. Third, request the resident’s own medical and care records through the appropriate authorized process. Combining all three can lead to confusion about who must respond and what may be disclosed.
The federal communication rule, 42 C.F.R. §483.73(c)(8), requires a method for sharing information from the emergency plan that the facility determines is appropriate with residents, families, or representatives. That provision does not give every visitor unrestricted access to the complete plan, staff contact lists, contracts, or other residents’ medical information.
There is also a specific Louisiana admission-process protection: R.S. 40:2010.10 requires notification that the applicant may receive a copy of the annual licensing survey, together with the complaint telephone number. For inspection history and enhanced federal oversight, see our Louisiana Special Focus Facility guide. Survey findings and emergency-plan approvals answer different questions; review both.
For an agency request, identify the facility’s legal name and address, the shelter address if relevant, and the dates. Ask for public portions and a written explanation of any withholding. Resident information, protected security details, or other exempt material may require redaction. A missing online document does not establish that the record does not exist.
Suggested agency request: Please provide electronic copies of existing records for [facility name and address], covering [date range]: the emergency-plan approval or rejection letter; annual no-change attestations; correspondence requiring plan revisions; and inspection findings, approvals, or corrective-action correspondence for [identified evacuation site]. If reopening has been requested, please include the reopening request and LDH’s determination. Please provide reasonably separable public portions and identify the legal basis for any redaction or withholding. Please advise me before incurring copying charges.
A family checklist to keep with your emergency contacts
Use these questions before a storm and revisit them when the resident’s needs change. Write down the administrator’s answers, the date, and any promised follow-up. Keep medical details private.
- Which approved plan is in effect, and when was its annual review completed?
- What are the primary and secondary evacuation addresses?
- Is each destination a licensed nursing home or a separately approved sheltering site?
- What inspections or corrections apply to the destination?
- Who provides primary and backup transportation, and what vehicle is planned for this resident?
- Who accompanies the resident and handles medications, oxygen, mobility equipment, and medical records?
- How will essential care continue if the trip or stay takes longer than expected?
- What does backup power support at the home and destination, and what is the fuel contingency?
- Who will contact the family, from what number, and how will location changes be communicated?
- What is the alternative if a destination, vehicle, or normal telephone service becomes unavailable?
- Who will decide whether the home can reopen, and what written approval is required?
- Which questions remain unanswered, who is responsible for answering them, and by what date?
Download the one-page family evacuation checklist (PDF). Print a copy for your meeting and keep a completed copy with your emergency contacts.
After an evacuation, obtain the reopening record
A general announcement that an area has reopened does not answer whether a particular nursing home is ready to receive residents. Under LAC 48:I.9767(G), the facility must document a damage inspection and submit a reopening request to LDH’s Health Standards Section. The submission addresses damage, power outages, the returning census, staffing, and access to services and supplies.
LDH may approve reopening without a survey, require surveys before approval, or deny reopening. Ask for the determination applicable to the facility and any conditions that remain. If an injury occurred during transport, sheltering, or return, preserve messages, photographs, the resident’s location history, and medical records promptly.
Flood exposure, an evacuation, or a poor outcome alone does not establish negligence. The relevant questions include the resident’s needs, the risks known at the time, the facility’s duties, the decisions made, and whether a failure caused harm. Our overview of Louisiana nursing-home claims explains the next issues to consider. More source-based guides are available in Louisiana Legal Research.
This guide addresses Louisiana nursing homes, not every type of assisted-living or residential-care facility. Authorities were reviewed October 27, 2026. Individual records and circumstances determine how the requirements apply.