In This Article

  1. Why PCREE Falls Through the Cracks
  2. Who Owns What
  3. A Simple RACI You Can Copy
  4. Plan for Turnover

Ask three people in the same skilled nursing facility who is responsible for PCREE testing and you may get three answers. The administrator thinks maintenance handles it, maintenance thinks it's a vendor's job, and nursing assumes someone checked the new bed before it went into the room. That gap is how testing lapses and how K921 citations happen.

Why PCREE Falls Through the Cracks

PCREE touches three departments. The equipment is used by nursing, maintained by the maintenance or plant operations team, and paid for and answered for by the administrator. Testing happens once a year at most, so there's no weekly routine to keep it in anyone's head, and it often depends on one person's memory or one vendor's reminder.

Who Owns What

Administrator

  • Owns compliance and the budget for testing
  • Names one accountable person for the program
  • Reviews the annual report and any failures
  • Makes sure records are available at survey

Maintenance / Plant Operations Director

  • Keeps the PCREE inventory current
  • Schedules testing and coordinates the technician's visit
  • Tracks failed devices through repair and re-test
  • Runs incoming testing for new, rental and returned equipment
  • Files reports in the Life Safety Code binder

Director of Nursing and Nursing Staff

  • Reports damaged cords, plugs and equipment right away and removes them from use
  • Flags new or rental equipment arriving on the unit before it's used
  • Helps schedule testing around resident care
  • Checks resident-owned electrical items at admission

Central Supply / Purchasing

  • Notifies maintenance when new PCREE is purchased, rented or delivered by hospice or DME vendors

A Simple RACI You Can Copy

TaskAdministratorMaintenanceNursing
Annual testing scheduledAccountableResponsibleConsulted
Inventory kept currentInformedResponsibleConsulted
New/rental equipment tested before useAccountableResponsibleResponsible (flags arrivals)
Failed devices removed, repaired, re-testedInformedResponsibleResponsible (removes from use)
Records ready for surveyAccountableResponsibleInformed

Plan for Turnover

Maintenance directors and administrators change jobs, and PCREE knowledge leaves with them. Keep the program written down: the testing interval, the vendor, the last and next test dates, and where the records are filed. Put the next due date on a shared calendar, not one person's phone. Our equipment management plan template is a good place to record it.

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Free: PCREE Equipment Inventory Template (Excel)

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who is responsible for PCREE testing in a nursing home?
The administrator is ultimately accountable for compliance. Day to day, the maintenance or plant operations director usually schedules testing, keeps the inventory and tracks failures, while nursing staff report damaged equipment and flag new or rental equipment before it is used.
Can we leave PCREE testing entirely to our vendor?
A qualified vendor performs the testing and produces the report, but the facility still owns the inventory, the schedule, incoming testing of new equipment and the records surveyors review. Assign someone in-house to own the program.
How do we keep PCREE testing from lapsing when staff change?
Write the program down, including the interval, the vendor, the last and next test dates and where records are kept, and put the next due date on a shared calendar that does not depend on one person.

About the Author

PCREE Test Editorial Team

Content reviewed by biomedical professionals with experience in patient care electrical equipment testing, NFPA 99 compliance, and CMS Life Safety survey preparation for skilled nursing facilities.