✨✨General Discussions

Fire, hurricane, tornado, blizzard, earthquake, active shooter, go bag contents should be covered in resident handbook.

We might have a broad idea about emergency response by evaluating how the Covid-19 pandemic was managed. A few years later we had a blackout that lasted for 3+ days (no power, no lights, no heat/air). My facility was heroic and I got to watch their efforts day-to-day over time as the pandemic went on for several years. My background is medical/hospital and from the beginning I did not think it could be done. But they did it, and maintained a grueling regimen which changed week-to-week until the pandemic slowly abated.

Each catastrophe is totally different, requiring a unique response each time. A widespread blackout occurred a few years ago. Within hours, I was contacted by the social worker to assess my medical needs (CPAP, medical devices, meds, etc.).

At risk residents were moved to buildings that had generators. Villa/cottage people stayed put, but some go to hotels, nearby families, etc. Again, the response was impressive.

Thank you for starting this forum. I'm sure it will be a valuable resource in the future. My goal is to bring this to the attention of our resident's council so they can raise awareness of this critical issue.

The devastation caused by Helene and Milton underscore the need for our communities to prepare. It's not something that each community needs to invent. Emergency Management (EM) is a profession with well-established best practices. Many, if not most, eldercare communities must prepare and file a plan that includes preparation, response, and recovery activities.

As a resident, if you don't know what's in place at your facility, then your EM plan has failed an important test -- community awareness of resident's roles and responsibilities in an emergency. If your community was harmed by the hurricanes, how well did the preparation, response, and recovery actions address mitigation?

Richmond Shreve

NaCCRA Board Member

Forum Moderator