Emergency Preparedness Planning for Organizations, Seniors & Individuals with Disabilities Barb Fonkert Individual & Functional Needs Planning Coordinator Homeland Security & Emergency Management Margot Imdieke Cross, Accessibility Specialist Minnesota State Council on Disability 2013 Age & Disability Odyssey Conference

Be Prepared for Disasters According to the National Organization on Disability (NOD), “To be better prepared as a nation, we all must do our part to plan for disasters. Individuals with or without disabilities, can decrease the impact of a disaster by taking steps to prepare BEFORE an event occurs.”

Take Responsibility According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide for People with Disabilities, “All people, regardless of circumstances, have some obligation to be prepared to take action during an emergency and to assume responsibility for their own safety.”

Be Prepared! Being prepared can have life saving benefits – planning and practice do make a difference!

Plan Will you evacuate or shelter in place?  Evacuate – do you have a transportation source, is the evacuation site accessible, do you have enough medical supplies, pca support?  Shelter in place – do you have enough water, food, medical supplies, pca support?

In Either Case - Communicate  Develop a network of people and communicate with them on what you would need in an emergency.  Again remember - rely most on those closest to you!  Developing a network is a two-way street.

Prepare a Go Plan and a Go Emergency Kit Develop a plan and assemble supplies you might need in an evacuation. Store them in an easy-to-carry container such as a backpack or duffel bag. A checklist is included in your booklet, along with a checklist for who to contact -ICE and a Car Emergency Checklist.

Plan Teach those who may need to assist you in an emergency on what to do: the best way to notify you of an emergency, how to assist with a transfer, how to assist with an insulin injection, how to operate necessary equipment, etc.

Emergency Evacuation Equipment  Some evacuation devices and methods, including stair-descent devices and the wheelchair carry, require the assistance of others.

Go Plan PLAN AND PRACTICE HOW TO ESCAPE FROM YOUR HOME IN AN EMERGENCY.

Stay Plan – Emergency Supplies Find a space in your home to store your emergency supplies. There is a checklist in your booklet. Be sure to contact your local public health department, common entry point at the county, center for independent living or MSCOD for additional information or assistance.

Stay Plan Contact the agencies that provide services, such as direct support professional, skilled nurses, medical supplies, oxygen or food delivery service and make sure they have a plan for continuation of services during a pandemic.

Get the Job Done…… PUT YOUR PLAN TOGETHER NOW!

Information Provided by:  American Red Cross  Federal Emergency Management Agency  National Organization on Disability  National Fire Protection Association  Ready.PA

Instilling a culture of preparedness  Attitude: “Bad things happen to other people” (“It won’t happen here”) Daily resilience— doing things that help every day as well as in disasters

Developing an attitude of safety  Start with children— preschool and school age  People believe messages from “trusted” sources Employers Schools Local groups and community leaders Social media

Tailoring the message  Meet people where they are: basic needs vs. disaster kits  Keep it simple!  It’s for everyone—no matter how small an effort! Preparedness is NOT rocket science!

Mom’s tornado plan Simple: Go into her bathroom and shut the door! Everyone can do something to make themselves safer!

Continuity of Operations Planning

Agency: Continuation of services  Agency mission  Critical services OR “mission essential functions” What are they? Who determines? Who do they affect?

Service continuation planning  Risk & hazard analysis  Planning team  Decision-making in a disaster  Communications and information sharing  Staffing  Resources

Risks and hazards  What are they?  How often do they occur?  What affect would they have on the agency? Services provided? Clients? Staff?  Prioritizing risks for planning & risk management

Planning team  Team members Who? How many? Representing?  Direction and authorization BUY IN!

Communications!  Communication methods-internal Phone lists? Call-in numbers? Web site updates? Social media? Who communicates What to WHO—and how often?  External communications: Who does this? What do you say?

People and resources PeopleResources  Operate critical services Who does these now? Who could be trained quickly?  Provide necessary support for critical services  Assess agency needs and plan for recovery  Items on site that are salvageable  Viable alternate working space  Partners with resources--vendors  Tele-work Access to necessary records Codes and passwords for remote access

References  City of Minneapolis Health Department: Emergency Preparedness Guide for Community-Based Organizations (  FEMA: Independent Study courses IS-546.a Continuity of Operations Awareness & IS-547.a Introduction to Continuity of Operations (  Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters (CARD): Agency Emergency Planning Template (

Community preparedness

“Whole community” planning  Local emergency planning with the “whole community”  Inclusive  Utilizing all of a community’s resources  Participation of community-based agencies/services

Long term recovery  Surveying needs in the community  Finding recovery resources  Advocating for those in need  Developing case management process  Distributing resources

Partnerships & Collaborations  Provide shared services  Increase services necessary due to disaster  Stretch scarce resources  Make effective use of facilities and staff  Resolve programmatic differences before disaster  Train together  Formulate consistent messages for the public  Encourage system changes for more flexibility in time of disaster Result: More resilient services!

Alien Space Ship Landing  If the aliens are hostile Call the “Men In Black”  If the aliens are friendly Open enroll their kids