Emergency preparedness plan template for NEMT companies: hazards, contacts, and priority riders
Overview
A NEMT emergency preparedness plan template gives you fill-in pages that settle, before a storm or outage, who makes the calls, how staff and drivers are reached, which riders keep their trips longest, where vans and fuel come from, how dispatch runs without the office, and what you promised facilities. A yearly drill shows whether it works.
On this page
This template turns an emergency plan into pages a NEMT owner can fill in over an afternoon: who is in charge, how the office gets out and how drivers get reached, which riders are protected first, where vans and fuel come from, how trips keep running without the office, and a record of every drill. Why each piece matters, and what CMS expects from the facilities that call you during an evacuation, is covered in emergency preparedness for NEMT companies. Two narrower plans sit beside this one: the bad weather policy for icy or stormy days, and the outage plan for a day when phones or software fail.
How to fill in this plan
Keep it short enough that a dispatcher can follow it with the lights out. Ready.gov’s business planning steps ask for a protective action for each hazard (evacuation, shelter, shelter-in-place, or lockdown), a way to warn people, a way to communicate with staff during and after the event, and training and exercises to practice. The template below carries each of those into a van fleet.
- Fill in names and numbers, then print it. A plan that lives only on the office computer fails in the first power cut. Keep printed copies at the office, at the owner’s home, and with each dispatcher.
- Write the office section to OSHA’s list. 29 CFR 1910.38 sets six minimum elements for an emergency action plan. Section 4 follows them, so it is ready if an OSHA standard requires the plan, or if you want the lighter extinguisher duties that 29 CFR 1910.157(a) and (b) allow when a plan like this one is in place.
- Use real riders. Section 6 needs the actual names of riders whose health depends on their trips. Store the filled-in list as carefully as a trip manifest.
- Match the facility promises to your fleet. Section 9 should never add up to more vans than you own. Write the evacuation terms as an addendum to your facility transportation agreement, using the points the preparedness guide lists.
- Test it within a month of finishing it. Section 11 is where the first drill goes.
The template
[Company name] emergency preparedness plan
Version date: [date] | Plan owner: [name, phone] | Copies kept at: [office, owner’s home, each dispatcher]
1. When this plan is used
This plan is used when an event makes normal operations unsafe or impossible, such as [hurricane, flood, wildfire, ice storm, long power or phone outage, fire at the office or lot, evacuation order]. Routine weather days follow the bad weather policy instead.
2. Who decides
| Role | Name and phone | Backup |
|---|---|---|
| Incident lead (sets the service level, opens and closes this plan) | ||
| Dispatch lead | ||
| Calls to brokers and facilities | ||
| Calls with drivers and staff |
If the incident lead cannot be reached within [30] minutes, the backup takes over with full authority until relieved.
3. Hazards and service levels
| Hazard | Warning we act on | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| [Hurricane] | [Watch or warning for our area] | [Move to Level 2 at the watch, Level 3 at the warning] |
| [Flood] | [Flood warning for our routes] | [ ] |
| [Wildfire or smoke] | [ ] | [ ] |
| [Ice or snow] | [ ] | [ ] |
| [Power or phone outage] | [ ] | [ ] |
- Level 1, normal: all trips run.
- Level 2, limited: [dialysis, cancer treatment, hospital discharges, and (other)] run; other trips are rebooked with broker approval.
- Level 3, suspended: only [trips agreed with emergency management or facility evacuations]; no van enters flood water or an evacuation zone after the order.
4. Office emergencies
- Reporting a fire or emergency: call 911, then [name]. The alarm is [describe].
- Getting out: exit routes are [describe or attach the floor plan]. Meet at [place].
- Before leaving: if it is safe, [name] forwards the main line to [cell number] and grabs [the printed manifests and contact sheet].
- Headcount: [name] counts everyone at the meeting place against the day’s staff list.
- Rescue and first aid duties: [name, trained in first aid] or [none: wait for responders].
- Questions about this section: [name or job title].
Every employee goes over this section when hired, when their role in it changes, and whenever it changes.
5. Contact tree
| Who | Primary way | Backup way |
|---|---|---|
| Drivers | [group text] | [voice call, then home visit by supervisor] |
| Office staff | [ ] | [ ] |
| Brokers (each) | [provider line and portal] | [account manager cell] |
| Facilities in section 9 | [ ] | [alternate emergency number] |
| County emergency management | [ ] | [ ] |
| Fuel supplier, tow company, insurer | [ ] | [ ] |
Drivers confirm by [reply text] that they received each message. Anyone not heard from within [2] hours is called by [name].
6. Riders who come first
| Rider | Why they come first | Their facility and its emergency number | Backup plan if we cannot reach them |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Dialysis M/W/F] | |||
| [Home oxygen, power-dependent equipment] | |||
| [Chemotherapy, radiation] |
Before a forecast event, [name] calls each facility on this list for schedule changes and calls or texts each rider with new pickup times. The list holds only what dispatch needs to protect the trip and is reviewed [monthly].
7. Vans, fuel, and parking
- Fuel cards: [card numbers on file with (name)]. Every van is filled when the incident lead declares Level 2.
- Where vans go: [higher ground location or second lot], away from [known flood streets].
- Spare keys, phone chargers, and power banks: [where].
- Vans that cannot be moved are listed with [insurer] before the event.
8. Dispatch and records without the office
- The evening before a forecast event, [name] prints the next day’s manifest, the driver list, and this plan.
- A copy of trip records and the rider list is kept at [off-site location or second system], updated [daily].
- Trips run during an outage are written by hand with actual times and entered within [24] hours of systems returning.
- If records are destroyed, [name] notifies each payer and any regulator that requires it. New York, for one, has providers file a self-report with OMIG after a records loss, covering the cause, which kinds of records were lost, the service dates involved, and photos or other proof.
9. Facility commitments
| Facility | What we committed (vans, wheelchair stations, stretchers, notice) | Who can activate it | Last reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
Total committed in any one evacuation zone: [number] vans, out of [number] we own.
10. Reopening
- Every van checked for damage and fuel.
- Routes and bridges confirmed open with [source].
- Each facility in sections 6 and 9 called to confirm it is open.
- Brokers told our capacity in writing.
- Riders with missed trips called and rebooked.
- Each cancelled or delayed trip recorded, with why it happened and who was notified.
11. Drills and reviews
| Date | Type (walkthrough, tabletop, functional, real event) | Scenario | What failed | Fix, owner, due date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
12. Approval and staff sign-off
Approved by [owner name] | Signature: __________ | Date: __________
| Employee | Role in this plan | Signature | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
Running the yearly drill
A tabletop exercise is a low-cost way for a small company to test its plan. Ready.gov describes it as a classroom-style discussion where a facilitator walks the team through a scenario, and says many take only a few hours. Its advice is to run a walkthrough first so people know the plan and their roles, build tabletops on likely scenarios, and consider a functional exercise later. Full-scale exercises are run by public agencies and often include local businesses, and Ready.gov suggests asking local emergency management officials about joining one. Dialysis facilities must test their own plans every year and join a community-based full-scale exercise or run a functional exercise every 2 years (42 CFR 494.62(d)(2)), so say yes if a facility you serve asks you to take part.
A scenario that fits a NEMT company, as an example: a hurricane warning is issued 36 hours out, the next day’s schedule has 14 dialysis riders, two drivers live in the evacuation zone, and the office loses power that evening. Ask each person what they do at each step, using only the printed plan.
Close with what Ready.gov calls a hot wash, a facilitated discussion at the end of the exercise that collects feedback and ideas, then write the after-action report that lists each suggested improvement. Add the owner and due date for each, copy the list into section 11, and update the plan before you file it away.
Getting messages to drivers during an event
Drivers using the HealthRide app can keep recording trips without cell service, and the entries sync once the signal returns. When the service level changes, one team chat announcement goes to all drivers, read receipts show who has not seen it yet, and the live map keeps each van’s position in view. See the driver app and team chat.
Frequently asked questions
- Does OSHA require a written emergency plan for a NEMT office?
- Only when another OSHA standard in part 1910 requires one. 29 CFR 1910.38 applies "whenever an OSHA standard in this part requires one." The portable fire extinguisher standard (1910.157) does not demand a plan outright, but it lightens an employer's extinguisher duties when a plan meeting 1910.38 is in place (some of the relief also calls for a fire prevention plan under 1910.39), so an office with extinguishers gains from having one. When 1910.38 applies, an employer of 10 people or fewer may explain the plan out loud instead of writing it down. The six minimum elements make a sound office section either way.
- What is a tabletop exercise, and how long does one take?
- A tabletop is a discussion, not a drill on the road. Ready.gov describes it as an informal, classroom-style session where a facilitator walks the team through one or more scenarios, and says many can be done in a few hours. Its advice is to begin with a walkthrough of the plan, build tabletops on likely scenarios, and consider a functional exercise as the program matures. Ready.gov also suggests ending an exercise with a hot wash discussion and writing an after-action report of suggested improvements.
- If a flood or fire destroys trip records, who has to be told?
- Check each payer contract and your state Medicaid rules, because some states require a report. New York is a clear example. Under its Medicaid transportation manual, a transportation company whose files, on paper or on a computer, are destroyed by fire, flood, or another disaster must report the loss to OMIG, the state Medicaid fraud and audit office. The self-report describes the event, the record types lost, and the service dates they cover, and it includes photos or papers proving the loss. Providers also notify any other state or local agency that requires it, such as the Taxi and Limousine Commission for taxi, livery, and ambulette companies.
- When does the plan need a fresh look?
- Every year at a minimum, plus after each real activation or drill and any time a facility you serve rewrites its own plan. Under 42 CFR 494.62, dialysis facilities update their emergency plans at least every 2 years, and the patient information they must give includes an alternate emergency phone number for the facility (unless it can forward calls). That number belongs in your contact tree. If OSHA's emergency action plan rule applies to you, it also requires going over the plan with each employee at hire, when their duties under it change, and when the plan changes.
