Washington, District of Columbia — A new federal audit says most nursing homes in the United States still lack emergency power systems strong enough to protect residents during a major outage, a finding that lands just ahead of hurricane season.
The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said 72 of the 100 nursing homes it audited had at least one emergency power deficiency. Based on that sample, the agency estimated that 10,983 of the nation’s 15,115 nursing homes, or 73%, have emergency power systems that are either inadequate or unreliable.
What the audit found
The report broke the problem into three categories. OIG estimated that 53% of nursing homes have inadequate generator maintenance, 39% have generators that do not cover enough critical circuits, and 10% are relying on generators that are at least 40 years old. Altogether, the 72 homes with problems accounted for 119 deficiencies.
Federal auditors said those weaknesses raise the risk of injury or death for residents, staff, and visitors when the power goes out. The report pointed to past disasters as a warning. During Hurricane Ida, seven nursing home residents in Louisiana died after facilities evacuated them to an overcrowded warehouse amid widespread outages. During Winter Storm Uri, 118 nursing homes in Texas lost power and many residents had to be moved.
The findings add a new layer to the compliance pressure already facing operators as regulators tighten oversight. In recent days, providers have also been digesting new expectations for after-hours survey activity, a sign that preparedness gaps are drawing closer scrutiny.
Why facilities are falling short
According to the audit, facilities and field experts pointed to two recurring problems: thin resources and turnover. Auditors said inadequate maintenance, older equipment, and weak circuit coverage often reflect capital constraints. They also found that frequent management and staff changes contributed to missed testing and other upkeep failures.
CMS agreed with OIG’s recommendation to share the findings with nursing homes and emphasize their obligation to maintain adequate and reliable backup power. The report does not create a new rule on its own, but it gives regulators and surveyors fresh documentation on a risk area with obvious human stakes.
For operators, the message is hard to miss: backup power may no longer be treated as a box-checking exercise. Federal officials now have a national audit showing the problem is widespread, and they’ve put the industry on notice.
