• The state of Kentucky requires nursing homes follow specific rules relating to generators used in their facilities. Generators provide an emergency source of power during times when normal power gets cut off. Many nursing home residents have critical care needs that require uninterrupted power and the state requirements insure these needs are met.
  
  

Areas Covered by Generator Service

• Kentucky's generator laws are designed to insure nursing-home patients get continuity of care.Kentucky state contour against blurred USA flag image by Stasys Eidiejus from Fotolia.com
  
  According to Kentucky state statutes, a generator should be located on the nursing home premises and the nursing home should use it solely for supplying emergency power. The generator should have adequate kilowatt capacity to provide electric power for all the electric connections the state has specified. The state specifies that nursing homes should provide emergency electrical connections for the home's lighting, exit ways, dining and recreation rooms, nursing station and medication preparation areas, generators, elevators, night lights, and some critical equipment.
  
  

Heating

• At nursing homes where electricity is the only source of power that the facility normally uses to heat patient rooms, the generator service should provide for heating of patient rooms. Kentucky does not require emergency heating of patient rooms at facilities that get their power supply through at least two utility sources, each supplied by separate generating sources. Facilities that get their electrical power from a network distribution system fed by two or more generators so that the facility will not experience a power outage also don't need to provide such emergency heating.
  
  

Generator Operation

• Once the power supply goes out, the generator should be working in full force within 10 seconds and connected to emergency lighting, alarms, and nurses' call equipment. All other lighting and equipment that have to be provided emergency power supply should either be connected in the same way through automatic transfer switching, or the nursing home should subsequently connect them through automatic or manual transfer switching. Also, Kentucky nursing homes cannot use storage battery powered lights as a substitute for a generator. Another Kentucky requirement is that if the nursing home stores fuel to operate the generator at the facility premises, there should be enough supply to operate the generator for at least 24 hours.