Emergency Planning

Tips for Hispanic/Latino Family Caregivers of Older Adults: Planning for Public Health Emergencies and Common Disasters

A Public Health Emergency is when a community is impacted by the threat of an illness or health condition that poses a substantial risk to human health, such as COVID-19, or natural disasters also known as common disasters. Examples of common disasters include wildfires, windstorms, floods, earthquakes, tornados, extreme temperatures, and hurricanes.
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Resilient Communities: Empowering Older Adults in Disasters and Daily Life

Over the last 12 years, New York City has experienced multiple catastrophic events. The 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, the blackout of 2003, Hurricane Irene, and, most recently, Hurricane Sandy, posed significant challenges to older adults. A common denominator of these incidents was the loss of power and the disruption of systems and services upon which older adults rely, including but not limited to transportation, communication, health care, elevators, and social supports. As a result, tens of thousands of older adults were isolated in high-rise buildings and private homes, in need of food, water, warming or cooling, medical attention, and medication.
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Search. Find. Help.

The purpose of Search. Find. Help. is to help organizational leaders and staff find resources they can use to support older adults and caregivers during public health emergencies. These resources include interventions, policies, programs, and strategies addressing social isolation, managing chronic conditions, elder abuse and neglect, caregiver support, delayed medical care, and emergency preparedness. Many of the resources included on this site are designed for public health emergencies; others have been adapted for or are applicable to outbreaks such as COVID-19 (for example, because they are available remotely). 
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Ready.gov – Senior Resources

Older adults and people with disabilities often have unique needs in emergency situations. They and their families and caregivers should take steps to prepare for emergencies.With advance planning, it is possible to accommodate issues such as mobility limitations and the need for battery or electrically powered medical devices or durable medical equipment. Without it, these limitations could negatively impact a person during a crisis.
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