Is Your Senior Adult Facility Ready for the Next Natural Disaster?

Better to Be on the Safe Side

Natural Disaster Preparedness and Senior Adult Facilities

By Dr. Linda Karges-Bone

            As I write this story, thankfully on dry land and with power intact in my home office, many of my colleagues and friends across South Carolina are not so fortunate. This week, we began clean-up from what is being called the “1000 Year Flood”.  In one press conference, the governor of SC said: “Our goal is to have all hands on deck”, in order to make it through the natural disaster. Are you “on deck” in your role ? Whether you live in a vulnerable coastal area like me, or in a blizzard-prone corridor of the North, or in a fire-zone in the West, or in the gusty tornado belt of our country’s interior, Mother Nature can be a feisty friend or a dreaded foe. We don’t get to choose, but we can choose to be prepared. Today, let’s consider some ideas about 1) How to assist and support one’s organization or facility in preparedness and 2) How to best respond to clients and program participants and their families during and after a bout with Mother Nature.

            First, let’s establish a few ground rules for preparedness. They may sound a bit simplistic, but believe me, between my early years as a summer camp director for special needs children, decades of living in a hurricane zone, including “staying put” for Hurricane Hugo in 1989 with two little ones, and then training as a crisis responder at a small college, I have enjoyed the benefits of some interesting experiences. Start with this. Prepare your car and/or home office with the following:

• Large and small flashlights and batteries. Extra phone charger for your car.
• First aid kit, including benedryl for insect stings and bites and your own essential medicine for at least 48 hours
• Waterproof poncho, umbrella, blanket, and flares.
• Water, protein bars or bags of nuts and dried fruit

Set Up for Success

            That is step one. Now, what about your site’s overall plan of action? Do you even have one? At the next staff meeting, set aside time to consider the following questions and then follow up with steps to insure a seamless ( as far as possible) response.

1. Do we have an Emergency Response Plan with levels? For example, Level 3 might be communicating with families about plans and threats over the next 48 hour period. Level 2 might be an “alert” status; and Level I might trigger a shut-down, evaluation, or closing of the site.
2. What are the expectations for staff during and after a natural disaster? Does everyone know and agree? Has there been appropriate training? Though this is a different kind of disaster, I recently talked with a number of college leaders who are grappling with the issue of “active shooters” on their campuses and they noted that simply putting directives up on a website without ever doing drills or going over expectations in meetings is useless. A website or handbook page is not enough.
3. How up to date are all phone numbers and points of contact? With families? First responders? Medical contacts? Insurers? Remember, if your cell phones go down, you will need actual phone numbers. Think about that. The very thought of it is scary!
4. Do a “walk through” each quarter with the maintenance staff. Make sure that drainage ditches are draining water away from the facility; trees are pruned and healthy so that a windstorm may do less damage; hallways are cleared for quick exits and entrances; and emergency items ranging from fire extinguishers to extra water and blankets to signs identifying the facility ( especially the street number) are neat and visible.

What About Your Affective Response?

            During and after a natural disaster, there is a two part biological response pattern that affects one’s cognitive and emotional performance. First, the adrenaline rush. You are set “on go” with boundless energy, a quick and decisive response, and strength you did not know you possessed. That is great. Enjoy it. Work with it. Once the wind dies down, so does your own wind and then comes the exhaustion, confusion, and despair of dealing with a “mess” of large proportion. Keep in mind, one’s mind is not to be counted on to make great decisions during the aftermath. It is natural to feel extremely tired, touchy, and anxious after a crisis that one cannot control.

            What do your clients and/or participants need from you as the AD during and after a natural disaster, whether it is a blizzard that shuts things down for 48 hours or a hurricane that requires evacuation and then a re-settling? I have 7 recommendations.

• Maintain as much familiarity and routine as possible at home and at work.
• Avoid over-saturation with media images that can trigger anxiety.
• Establish times for personal connectivity so that individuals can share their concerns. Use art therapy or music as a way to release tension or express emotions.
• Validate concerns but don’t dwell on them. Move as quickly as possible to routine.
• Communicate as frequently as possible with family members who may not be able to “get there”. This can work two ways: 1) Family members may be experiencing the natural disaster in one region and become separated from loved ones at your site; or 2) The natural disaster takes place in your area and disrupts family contact for a time. In either scenario, you may be an essential “point of contact”. Respect that role. People are counting on you and possibly at a time when you are feeling distracted by your personal responsibilities for home or property.
• Be aware of changes in individuals’ physical and emotional states. During a natural disaster, especially when staffing is inconsistent and routines are disrupted, sleep, medicine, and eating may also be disrupted and fragile, older adults may be at greater risk.
• Monitor your own sleep and hydration carefully. Sleep when you can. Be extra careful. One of my friends, a physical therapist, went out to get in her car after the recent storm and floods to go and check on some clients. She met a three foot copperhead snake curled by the garage door inches from her foot, also a victim of the rising waters. Be alert.

Conclusion

            Wrapping up or perhaps “clearing up” as we close here, keep in mind that a natural disaster or significant event takes a spiritual and emotional toll on everyone. Don’t’ forget to address these issues as well. Some folks may want to speak with their pastor, priest, or rabbi. Some may want reassurance. Others may not be able to verbalize their fears or may be reliving events from earlier times, in which they were stronger and felt more able to respond. Keep all of this in mind and do what you can to help folks attach some “meaning” to what may seem meaningless.

“In all natural disasters through time, man needs to attach meaning to tragedy, no matter how random and inexplicable the event is.”

Nathaniel Philbrick