Introduction
During an emergency such as a hurricane or a large fire that will cause the county to evacuate people out of the area, people with special needs may not be able to evacuate on their own or may need shelter available to them. Special needs, according to Santa Rosa’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP), is defined as “a categorization given to that segment of the population for whom special arrangements are necessary during emergencies, particularly during shelter operations, due to medical issues, handicaps or other impairments” (CEMP, 2014). Adding in service animals and medical needs can make the transition less than smooth, and ironing out these issues can save lives or avoid chaos amongst the special needs populace.
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This can cause injuries, people may be displaced, or even death can occur. For example, 40 percent of hurricane Katrina victims who did not evacuate were physically not able to leave or caring for a person with a disability preventing them from leaving (FHA, 2009). This could have been prevented if there had been a better plan to care for them.
When Hurricane Sandy smashed the East coast in 2012, disabled or those with special needs ended up abandoned for days or weeks without either care or medical equipment that they needed. This occurred after the need for registries had been established, but there was no follow through to ensure the people were taken care of (Chavkin, 2013). This can happen to the special needs residents of Santa Rosa County as well if they are not either preregistered, or taken care of during an
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The concern is that the personnel evacuating the special needs individuals are not prepared with transportation, and there will not be enough shelter or the ability to fulfill medical needs. According to the CEMP, “The facility can accommodate up to 1570 individuals, including residents, care givers, and staff.
Note: The Santa Rosa Health Department does not have staffing to support this number” (CEMP, 2014). There is not an actual number of how many people can be transported, not to mention, there is no record of how many service animals can be accommodated for. Preparing the special needs population and arming them with information beforehand will alleviate confusion, miscommunication, and uncertainty. It will also prevent loss of life, or increased medical situations, and will allow the Santa Rosa County’s Emergency Department to account for those who may need shelter, transportation, and assistance with service animals and/or medical needs. Conducting interviews will allow for not only the proper information to be documented, but also to see if Santa Rosa County will need to allow for more special needs shelters to either be built or assigned. Doing the interviews face to face will also allow for any possible questions to be answered. It may be an opportunity for alternate evacuation plans to be formed as
Hurricane Katrina was the source of misery for a large portion of the New Orleans area. The storm devastated the area and left many dead and many more stranded without food or water. In the aftermath, many stories of the city’s most vulnerable, the elderly and infirm, started to trickle in. Russel Embry was confined to bead as a result of brain damage, as a result his care giver and mother Dorothy Hingle,83, had enrolled in an evacuation program established by the St. Bernard Parish, that contracted the Acadian Ambulance to evacuate individuals registered as special needs (Cooley v. Acadian, 2011). Although Mr. Embry had been successfully evacuated on other occasion through this program. Unfortunately, during the evacuation efforts
Ensure relevant laws and policies provide support for shelters and related services. Promote protocols and guidelines to support standardized implementation of policies Secure adequate state funding for shelters and related services Integrate practices that promote accessibility for all women, such as: ensuring facilities serve women of all ages and can accommodate girls if needed; sheltering women with children; reducing financial barriers, by providing free services and safe transportation; and creating infrastructure and policies which enable women living with disabilities, in humanitarian settings, undocumented or immigrant women, and those with mental health or substance issues to access services. Provide specialized shelters for
The United States residents were mistreated during and after hurricane Katrina. In Zeitoun, Dave Eggers tells us a story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, the hard working Syrian American owner of a contracting company in New Orleans. During the hurricane, Zeitoun had witnessed the military didn’t focus on the rescue work, even didn’t give a helping hand to him. “’I have a situation,’ Zeitoun said. ‘I have a handicapped man who needs help medical attention. He needs help now.’ ‘Okay, we’ll take care of it,’ the man said. ‘Do you want the address?’ Zeitoun said… The man wrote it down and put his notebook back in his pocket.” (135). The soldier didn’t ask for the address of the handicappe...
An emergency operations plan for the community in which we live is a document of great importance to each of us whether we know it or not. This paper examines the emergency action plan for Knoxville, Tennessee. In the course of the examination, it will compare and analyze the plan for Knoxville with the standards set forth in the textbook for this course along with other recognized sources in the field of emergency management.
Hurricane Andrew also caused many short and long term effects on the ecosystem and local economies. Leading up to this storm, many prominent scientists believed that the hurricane would never make landfall, or if it did hit, would not cause any major damage. Due to this foolhardy belief held by the scientists, many civilians did not have any time to evacuate their homes and barely escaped with their loved ones and whatever small valuables or keepsakes they could grab. Regretfully, many families had to leave everything they had behind. Hurricane Andrew also damaged the livelihoods of many small shop owners and farms and caused long-term problems as well.
Haddow, G., Bullock, J., & Coppola, D. (2011). Introduction to emergency management (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Butterworth Heinemann.
By investing in this population, we can realize the potential that we possess to help these individuals. Whether that would be more funding or more staff and programs designated to address this issue. Having shelters or programs that were designed to meet the needs of the population, with the help of suggestions from survivors. As well as having staff who understand the effects of this type of trauma. Overall, it is important to not just invest in the short-term care, but instead invest in the longevity of the
I am not sure if the attitude was because I was a woman, did not have a wheelchair, or because of small town politics. This is far from the first time seeing someone in spaces without tags or place cards, or spaces that are legal in size but are horribly placed on the property. There are times when I have my ankle and knee braces on but do okay without my crutches, yet I feel compelled to adjust my straps so others can see that I really belong in the handicap space. In the United States, our “healthcare” system model works on the mode of you go to the doctor when you are sick in order to get better and move on with your life. That model does not work for those with chronic, mild, or invisible disabilities. None of the people I have talked to want to be a paraplegic – although I have some friends that are – or have cancer, but our culture makes people feel guilty for being ill for too long. One is either healthy or getting cured. There seems to be little patience for those who are in between, or for those who have greater disabilities, and have the nerve to venture out without a caregiver. Similar to John Hockenberry’s experience in New York City (Hockenberry 297), those who are handicap are seen as unwanted appendages that have a nerve burden the rest of society. However, Hockenberry’s experience in Iran was glaringly different (Hockenbarry 287). He was treated with dignity and as a fluid part of the group and not as an accessory that was to be disregarded when it was out of
stability for the children who cannot be reunified. Fulfilling this mission has place demand to the
Preparing as a clinician for disaster begins with knowing one’s personal and family preparedness plan. The American Nursing Association (ANA) provides Disaster Competency guidelines for nurses, insuring nurses can make quick and effective decisions during such moments (Smith, 2010). These competency guidelines are found under the ANA Policy White Paper known as “Adapting Standards of Care Under Extreme Conditions: Guidance for Professionals During Disasters, Pandemics, and Other Extreme Emergencies.” The literature has six key recommendations as listed, “(1) Registered Nurses and other health professionals must prepare themselves and their families for potential emergencies, including the potential fort he health professional to be away for extended periods during an emergency. (2) Registered Nurses and other health professionals must use their professional competence to provide the best possible care given the resources and physical conditions under which they are working. (3) Health facilities and other practice sites must provide opportunities for professional decision-makin...
According to Heller and Factor (as cited in Wood & Jackson, 2003) the number of “older adults age 60 and older who are diagnosed with mental retardation or developmental disabilities is expected to reach 1,065,000 by 2030.” In fact, “in the last 30 years, the life expectancy of people with intellectual disability has increased more dramatically than that of the general population” (Bigby, 2010). Doka and Lavin (2003) report that advances in medical care and a shift to deinstitutionalization have contributed to this increase in life expectancy for developmentally disabled adults. Increasingly, federal policy has linked addressing the housing needs of older adults with those of low-income and non-elderly disabled individuals, according to Annie Thombs, former Community Development Administrator for the City of Gastonia (personal communication, March 30, 2011). The assumption that the housing and service needs of all three populations can be met under the same fiscal and policy umbrella has created challenges for social service agencies and health care providers dealing with developmentally disabled seniors who “tend to reside more in family or small-group settings rather than independently” (Sterns and Ansello, 2008, p. 186). In effect, federal housing policies have failed to address the unique problems associated with elderly individuals suffering from developmental disabilities, according to Doka and Lavin (2003). This paper will examine federal housing policy, specifically the Fair Housing Act, which was enacted to ensure availability of existing housing to all persons, including older adults with developmental disabilities, as reported by Thombs (personal communication, March 30, 2011). Further, an examination of public housing ...
Hurricanes are among the costliest and the most destructive of natural disasters. Since 1995, the United States has witnessed more intense activities by hurricanes with Mobile County in Alabama experiencing hurricane Ivan and hurricane Dennis in 2004 and 2005 (Link, 2010). In 2005, Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes to have hit the United States and was rated category three in Mobile County (Marchi, 2007). The response to the disaster was poor owing to the lack of proper disaster preparedness as well as hazard mitigation planning. The very possibility of a hurricane hitting Alabama in the near future-within which the County of Mobile is located- appears as a near certainty going by past occurrences. The authorities as well as the community in Mobile County need to be more prepared for disasters by instituting hazard mitigation measures. These measures should be actualized through an effort by the County authorities in conjunction with the major stakeholders to put together a team that will comprehensively analyze hurricane Katrina and other past hurricanes affecting Mobile County.
Everyday risks present themselves in various workplaces through a variety of situations. Risk managers have been set in place to establish rules and guidelines by which employees are to follow. Any risk manager would agree that programs are set into place to reduce exposure risks, and provide a safe working environment. The elimination of undesirable outcomes in an emergency setting is critical and should not be taken lightly. Medical facility holds the key to important protocols and needs to work closely with risk management in order to instill cooperation.
Some people have trouble understanding that a special need children are just like any other child however they need just a little more love and caring. In this scenario I think one of the biggest problems is communication. One choice I could try is bring awareness to my staff without revealing to much personnel information. Another thing I may do is try to figure what timeworks best for the mother. Lastly I
A disaster is not a simple emergency. A disaster is that point when a human is suffering and has a devastating situation which they themselves need help from others to survive. Regardless if natural or human caused, a disaster causes a vast amount of issues in the community. In the simulation of “Disaster in Franklin County reveals that preparation is key and even with that more can be addressed. A community nurse remains an essential part of the team involved in a disaster including before, during, and after the event.