New Orleans Senior AdvisorWhat does Louisiana require an assisted living provider to plan for hurricanes?
Every Louisiana ARCP must keep a written emergency preparedness plan that covers both evacuation and sheltering in place, includes procedures for monitoring weather watches, warnings and evacuation orders, lists what any generator will power along with its fuel and refueling plan, and provides identification attached to each resident's person (LAC 48:I.6875).
The plan must also evaluate the building's ability to withstand wind, flood and other local hazards, include a floor plan showing safe sheltering areas, and say how medications, records and residents' needs travel with them. Each resident must be given a copy of the ARCP's emergency and evacuation procedures at move-in. If the provider cannot hand you that copy on a tour, it is fair to wonder whether the plan is a living document.
What happens to residents when an ARCP evacuates?
The ARCP moves residents to a host site named in its plan, notifies LDH and the local Office of Emergency Preparedness, and must report to LDH within 48 hours any change from the intended host site along with a list of every resident and where each one is (LAC 48:I.6877).
After the event the provider must document how the plan worked: when the evacuation happened, where residents went, what had to be improvised, and any injuries or deaths during evacuation and temporary relocation. An ARCP that evacuated, or whose building was damaged or lost power, may not re-open until LDH authorizes it. Ask where residents went the last time the building evacuated, how long the trip took, and how families were told.
Can an assisted living provider charge extra during a hurricane?
Yes, if it disclosed the charges in advance: Louisiana requires the written information given to prospective residents to include any additional costs for services during natural disasters such as tropical storms, hurricanes and floods, with a formula and cost parameters (LAC 48:I.6833.A).
Evacuating a building of older adults costs real money: buses with lifts, nursing staff away from their own families, hotel or host-site charges and generator fuel. The rule does not cap those charges; it makes them knowable. Ask for the formula in writing and compare it across the providers on your list, alongside the monthly rate.
Do New Orleans nursing homes have to plan for hurricanes too?
Yes: Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes must meet federal emergency preparedness requirements, including an emergency plan with evacuation and shelter-in-place procedures, a communication plan, and alternate power for safe temperatures and essential systems, and LDH's Health Standards Section surveys them on CMS's behalf.
Louisiana's experience with storms has made this an area where families should ask specific questions: which host facility does the home use, has it evacuated in recent years, what does the generator run, and is air conditioning on the list. A building that sheltered in place should be able to tell you how it kept residents cool and how long the power was out.
What should a New Orleans family ask about storm plans on a tour?
Ask for the resident copy of the evacuation procedures, the name of the host site, what the generator powers, the disaster-fee formula and how families are notified, and then compare those answers between providers as carefully as the rent.
Also ask about medications (a seven-day supply should travel with each resident), oxygen and other equipment, and what happens to a resident on hospice during an evacuation. If your parent lives at home instead, the hurricane evacuation guide covers parish special-needs registries and sheltering.
At a glance
| Louisiana's storm rules require | Louisiana's storm rules do not require | |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | A written evacuation and shelter-in-place plan | A specific host site or bus contractor |
| Power | A list of what any generator powers and its fuel plan | A generator in every Level 1 home |
| Fees | Disaster charges disclosed in writing with a formula | A cap on those charges |
| Reporting | Resident locations to LDH within 48 hours of a change | Public posting of each provider's plan |
Sources include LAC 48:I.Chapter 68 (adult residential care providers), the Louisiana Department of Health's Health Standards Section and Office of Aging and Adult Services pages, the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs, CareScout and VA rate tables as cited above; see our editorial standards.
