By Norfolk Senior Advisor Care Team · September 2, 2026
- Virginia's assisted living standards require a written emergency plan covering severe weather, flooding, loss of utilities, evacuation and sheltering in place.
- A facility with a generator must document its capacity and test it monthly. One without must contract with two separate generator vendors.
- Ask to see the plan, the generator test log, the relocation site and the 96-hour food and water supply before you sign anything.
What must a Hampton Roads assisted living emergency plan include?
Virginia's assisted living standards require a written emergency preparedness and response plan under 22VAC40-73-950, which sits in Part IX of the licensing rules. The plan must analyze hazards including severe weather, flooding and loss of utilities, and spell out procedures for evacuating, sheltering in place and relocating, with every resident accounted for.
The facility also has to document contact with its local emergency coordinator when it opens and every year afterward. That is how a city's emergency management office learns what the building holds and what help it can promise. Ask to see the paper trail. A facility that can name its contact and the date of the last conversation is doing the basics.
Supporting documents are required too: emergency call lists, maps showing where to shut off utilities, memoranda of understanding with relocation sites, and a list of major suppliers. The plan is reviewed annually, and staff, residents and volunteers get an orientation and a signed, dated review twice a year. Review pages with no signatures on them tell you how seriously the plan is taken.
How do Hampton Roads assisted living communities decide to evacuate or shelter in place?
The rules require every plan to cover both evacuation and sheltering in place, and to account for all residents either way, but they leave the decision to the facility. Ask who makes the call, what forecast triggers it, and how many days before landfall. Roads and crossings can flood before the wind arrives.
The rules call for agreements with relocation sites, so ask which site, how far away it is, and whether the route crosses a bridge or tunnel that closes in high wind. Then ask how a resident in a wheelchair or on oxygen gets there, who rides with them, and which staff members go along.
The separate plan for resident emergencies requires procedures for getting a resident's current medication administration record and advance directives to a rescue squad or hospital. Ask whether that same packet follows a resident to a shelter site. After an emergency is stabilized, the facility must notify families and legal representatives and report the event to the regional licensing office by the next day.
What generator rules apply to Hampton Roads assisted living facilities?
The rules turn on whether the building has an on-site generator. If it does, the emergency plan must describe its capacity to run lighting, ventilation, temperature control, supplied oxygen and refrigeration, and the facility must test it monthly and keep records. If it does not, the facility needs agreements with two separate generator vendors.
Any facility with six or more residents must also have a permanent connection that can accept a temporary emergency power source, approved by the local building official. Facilities without a generator must have that connection tested when it is installed and every two years afterward by a contracted vendor.
A vendor agreement is only as good as the vendor's truck. After a regional storm, every facility in Hampton Roads calls the same few rental companies. Ask where your facility sits in the queue and whether the contract guarantees priority.
| Ask | What a good answer sounds like |
|---|---|
| Is there a generator on site? | Yes, with a written capacity statement that covers oxygen, refrigeration and cooling |
| When was it last tested? | A dated monthly log you can see |
| No generator? | Two named vendors and a dated connection test |
| Where does refrigerated medication go? | A specific plan, not a general assurance |
| Which residents use oxygen concentrators? | Backup supply identified for each one |
How does tidal flooding affect assisted living in Norfolk and Hampton Roads?
Tidal flooding can close the streets a facility depends on even when its own building stays dry, so ask about access as well as floor elevation. Virginia's rules require the facility's hazard analysis to include flooding, but they do not tell a facility where it may build or what to do about a low parking lot.
Neighborhoods in Norfolk, Hampton and parts of Virginia Beach flood on days with no storm at all. Ask what happens when staff cannot reach the building at shift change, where caregivers sleep if they are asked to stay through a storm, and how food, medication and oxygen deliveries arrive when the main road is under water. The plan has to address continued services to residents, so there should be an answer.
Look at the building itself. Ask whether resident rooms are on the ground floor, where vehicles are moved before a storm, and how a second-floor resident who uses a wheelchair gets down if the elevator loses power. Ask about the facility's own flood history. A facility that has been through a flood will usually tell you what it changed afterward.
What emergency supplies must a Virginia assisted living facility keep on hand?
Under 22VAC40-73-980, a facility must be able to supply 96 hours of emergency food and drinking water, with at least 48 hours kept on site at any time. It must also have two forms of communication for emergencies and flashlights or battery lanterns for night-shift staff. Open-flame lighting is prohibited.
The same rule requires a complete first aid kit in each building, checked at least monthly, and a kit in any vehicle used to transport residents. Ask to see the stored water and shelf-stable food. Ask how the supply accounts for residents on prescribed diets, since another rule requires that a physician-ordered diet be prepared as ordered.
Ask the nurse or medication aide whether you should send extra medication or supplies with your parent if an evacuation is likely. Do not guess. Bring a current medication list, a copy of the power of attorney and health care directive, and a phone number for the family member who will pick up the call.
When should families in Virginia Beach and Newport News check a facility's storm readiness?
Check before you sign a contract, not in August. Hurricane season runs through November, so any month of a tour is a good month to ask. Request the emergency plan summary during the visit, then ask again each spring and whenever the facility changes owners or administrators.
Inspection records help. VDSS posts inspection findings on its public search, and a copy of the most recent findings must be posted inside the facility. A citation under the Part IX emergency standards is worth reading. Our guide to reading VDSS inspection reports explains how.
If staff cannot answer basic questions, or the administrator will not show you the plan, that is information. The regional long-term care ombudsman for Southside is at 757-222-4542, and for the Peninsula at 757-808-5275. Build a shortlist from the assisted living directory, and note that Norfolk Senior Advisor is paid by communities when a referred family moves in.
Frequently asked questions
Is a generator required in every Virginia assisted living facility?
No. A facility without an on-site generator must have agreements with two separate generator vendors, and any facility with six or more residents needs a permanent connection for temporary emergency power. A facility that has a generator must test it monthly and keep records.
How often do staff review the emergency plan?
Staff, residents and volunteers receive an orientation and a documented review twice a year, and the facility reviews the plan itself annually. Staff must also practice the plan for resident emergencies, such as medical events or a missing resident, at least once every six months.
Where can I see whether a facility was cited for emergency problems?
Use the VDSS public assisted living search, which posts inspection findings, including violation notices. Look for citations under 22VAC40-73-950 through -990. A copy of the most recent findings must also be posted inside the facility, so you can ask to read it on a tour.
What if the facility cannot answer my hurricane questions?
Ask to speak with the administrator and request the written plan. If you stay concerned, call the regional long-term care ombudsman or the VDSS complaint line at 1-800-543-7545. Complaints about a facility you are considering are reasonable, and the ombudsman service is free.
