1. State Medical Needs Shelters
Latricia Ratcliffe, RN
SMNS Coordinator

2. What is a Medical Needs Shelter?
A shelter of last resort during emergency conditions for persons requiring limited medical and nursing oversight who cannot be accommodated in a general population shelter.
Medical Needs Shelters ARE NOT intended to serve as skilled health care facilities.

3. Patients Requiring MNS
Require some medical surveillance and/or special assistance.
Exceed the capability of the general population shelter.
Age, mobility, functional, cognitive, and/or medical disability make them vulnerable in disaster situations and can’t be served in a general population shelter.
Have pre-existing conditions and maintain ADL’s in a home environment

4. Examples of Patients Requiring Medical Needs Shelters:
Require ambulatory care with or without assistive devices
Are accompanied by a caregiver
Need assistance for routine care
Need assistance managing health care (medications or using medical equipment)
Can safely sleep on a shelter cot/no specialty cots

5. Considerations that impact the decision to admit to MNS vs
Considerations that impact the decision to admit to MNS vs. hospitalization:
Access to constant power source;
Need to replenish medications and/or supplies;
Potential for health status of individual to change rapidly due to stress;
Ability to transport to higher level of care quickly.

6. Types of Medical Needs Shelters
Local- under authority of local EMA to operate and coordinate
Regional –under authority of State ESF-8 to operate and coordinate in support of Mississippians in temporary housing with special medical needs
State- under authority of State ESF-8 to operate and coordinate in support of evacuating Mississippians with special medical needs.

7. Current Regional MNS locations
Copiah Lincoln Community College – Wesson
East Central Community College - Decatur
Hinds Community College – Raymond
Hudspeth Regional Center – Whitfield
Jackson State University - Jackson
Meridian Community College - Meridian
MS Gulf Coast Community College – Lucedale
MS Gulf Coast Community College – Perkinston
Pearl River Community College – Hattiesburg
Pearl River Community College – Poplarville
Southwest MS Community College – Summit

8. Regional Medical Needs Shelters
Primarily located at Community Colleges in the central and southern parts of the state.
Mississippi Community College support services include:
Security
Food Service
Known Locations
Many on separate water system
Allied health or nursing programs
Pearl River Community College
When determining the best places to locate these shelters, community colleges became the obvious choice because many had a facility large enough to house the population, food services and security were already on site, most are in a location that can be easily located, many are on a separate water system and they have allied health or nursing programs on site that could be beneficial in a SMNS.

9. Regional Medical Needs Shelters
CDC and grant funding have allowed for the purchase of:
Generators for each building to be used
HVAC units in shelter areas
Wireless internet capabilities
Minor renovations for ADA compliance
Storage containers with:
Cots
Medical supplies
- Office/electrical supplies
We now have agreements with seven community colleges and our State Regional Center to serve as special medical needs shelters in the event of a disaster. Through different funding sources, we have been able to purchase for each facility: generators, HVAC units, wireless internet capabilities, storage containers with cots and various medical supplies and we have also been able to fund renovations of some facilities to ensure they were ADA compliant.

10. State Medical Needs Shelters
Stone County State MNS – Wiggins
Hudspeth Regional Center – Whitfield
Jackson State University- Jackson

11. MNS Opened for a Tropical Depression to Category 2 Storm
Stone County State MNS - Wiggins
Hudspeth Regional Center - Whitfield
MS Gulf Coast Community College – Lucedale
MS Gulf Coast Community College – Perkinston
Pearl River Community College – Poplarville

12. SMNS Opened for a Category 3 to Category 5 Storm
Stone County State MNS - Wiggins
Copiah-Lincoln Community College – Wesson
East Central Community College - Decatur
Hudspeth Regional Center- Whitfield
Hinds Community College – Raymond
Jackson State University- Jackson
Meridian Community College- Meridian
Southwest MS Community College – Summit
Pearl River Community College – Hattiesburg

13. Stone County State Medical Needs Shelter

14. Stone County State Medical Needs Shelter
Unprecedented facility designed to house a total of between patients, caregivers plus staff for a minimum of 72 hours
Meets FEMA 361 requirements

16. Are in which the residents will be brought to the shelter and enter the building

18. Office of Emergency Planning and Response
QUESTIONS
Latricia Ratcliffe, RN
SMNS Coordinator
Office of Emergency Planning and Response
– office
– cell