Severe Weather Preparedness for Senior Care Facilities

by Julia Kicinski

As a healthcare provider who always prioritizes resident safety, it can be stressful to consider the possibility of a severe weather event at your senior care facility. An approaching storm doesn't need to be a cause for panic, however, when you're well equipped to deal with any accompanying emergency situations. Adequately preparing your facility for the repercussions of severe weather will bolster confidence in advance of a storm and keep any ensuing evacuation or shelter procedures running smoothly.

There are a number of things you can do to physically prepare your facilities for impending weather. The best first step is to know what you're preparing for. Every facility has to prepare for severe weather in some capacity, but senior care facilities have the added concern of addressing the needs of elderly and less mobile residents, the majority of whom are considered at-risk in emergency situations. Identifying the type of weather your area is most frequently subjected to will help you determine what precautions you can take to ensure the safety and comfort of any seniors in residence should a severe weather event occur.

Know What You're Preparing For

Region plays a large role in determining what type of weather is most likely to affect your facility. We're all aware, for instance, that hurricanes occur on the coast; similarly, until recent years the region known as Tornado Alley—covering parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska—was considered at greater risk for experiencing a tornado. However, it's often the uncommon weather that leads to more devastating effects, such as the recent flooding in Dubai after the area received an unusually heavy amount of rainfall. Your locality will have specific weather patterns that can help you predict potential weather-related risks; from there, determine what precautions to take as you prepare for these events.

Identify your facility's vulnerabilities.

Once you have an idea of what type of weather to anticipate, assess your facility's premises through the lens of associated risks. If your area is prone to high winds, check the grounds for any safety hazards like dead or dying trees that may damage buildings or injure people in a storm. Does your local electric company take extra time for repairs? Keep emergency backup generators ready in case of a lengthy power failure. Inspect the inside of your buildings for necessities like proper evacuation routes, safe spaces away from windows, effective communication channels, and backup medical and food supplies. Keep your wayfinding signage up to date for simple navigation in unexpected emergency situations.

Identify your residents' vulnerabilities.

Consider your residents' mobility, medical, and personal assistance needs in the event of a particular type of severe weather. In the case of an impending hurricane or flood, your facility may have to decide whether to evacuate or shelter in place. Residents in an independent living facility will likely be able to follow a standard evacuation route with minimal assistance. However, in a memory care facility or nursing home, residents requiring mobility assistance or extensive medical attention will take longer to evacuate, creating a higher likelihood of needing to shelter in place during severe weather events. Prepare accessible evacuation routes, but also provide areas of refuge where residents with accessibility issues can shelter safely if they are unable to evacuate using standard routes.

Tornadoes

The unpredictability of tornadoes can make their occurrence a very alarming event, especially for seniors who may get easily stressed or confused. Tornadoes aren't as tied to region as they were once thought to be; in fact, the area known as Tornado Alley has been shifting farther east as tornadoes are becoming more common in Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and neighboring states. Regardless of the odds of a tornado hitting your senior care facility, preparing your buildings ahead of time will help maintain a calm, controlled environment if a related emergency situation occurs.

Prepare a tornado shelter.

The obvious way to stay safe in a tornado is to have a safe area to hide. Your facility might have a reinforced safe room to protect residents and staff from high winds and debris; at the very least, your tornado shelter should be an interior room with thick walls free of windows. Depending on the situation, your residents may need to shelter for quite some time, so make sure that your rooms are well equipped to care for any residents with health conditions that require a need for continued medical support. Some ways you can prepare to shelter in place include supplying emergency areas with a generator for light, electricity, and security and ensuring that a nearby pharmacy keeps an ample stock of all medications required by residents. Have a designated area of assisted refuge on each floor for residents with limited mobility to wait for emergency personnel to assist them to a safer area. This waiting area should have all the safety precautions of an official tornado shelter to ensure maximum safety for your residents.

Install clear directional signage.

Make sure your residents and staff can quickly and easily find their way to safe areas if a tornado is coming. Your shelters and areas of refuge should be accessible and clearly labeled. Ensure that residents are aware of their purpose and location by leading drills and other safety demonstrations. For residents with cognitive impairment that affects their understanding of emergency procedures, having simple directions and signage posted along the route will help them stay focused and calm despite the change in routine. In the event of a power loss, lit exit signs with battery backups provide better visibility and lessen confusion.

Hurricanes

Although not an exact science by any means, hurricanes can often be predicted far enough in advance for senior care facilities to decide whether they need to evacuate for the safety of the residents. If your facility is located on the coast and subject to the possibility of hurricanes, make sure that you're adequately prepared to either evacuate or shelter in place, depending on the situation.

Establish and maintain safe evacuation routes.

You never know when residents might have to leave the building quickly in front of a hurricane. Map evacuation routes and post applicable signage detailing the evacuation plan. Make sure to complement these with appropriately located exit signs. Healthcaresigns.com can help design and supply proper evacuation maps for your facility, as well as identify the best areas in your building for posting them for clear navigation.

Since elderly residents are more at risk for falls, make sure that your evacuation routes are wide, well-lit, and clear of tripping hazards. Emergency lights at regular intervals and directional signage at any crossroads ensure that everybody can find their way safely regardless of the circumstances. Keep your route accessible for wheelchairs or, if it isn't, include areas of refuge where residents can stay safely until somebody is able to come assist them.

Prepare a dry location to shelter in place.

Senior care facilities often evacuate only as a last resort due to the easy confusion of residents and the significant amount of time it takes to evacuate seniors with limited mobility. Be ready for the possibility of sheltering in place by preparing a safe, dry location equipped with backup power, preferably on a lower floor that is not at risk for flooding. A tornado shelter can also double as a hurricane shelter.

Floods

Even if your facility is not directly hit by a close storm like a tornado or a hurricane, the heavy rain that accompanies these events makes flooding a major concern. Flash floods can wash through an area with minimal warning, and torrential rainfall can increase chances of water accumulation in and around buildings. Plan ahead to protect your residents and your facilities in the case of oncoming floodwaters.

Pre-establish a clear evacuation plan.

Although not always foreseen, dangerous flooding of nursing homes and other senior care facilities does happen. Just like with any other severe weather event that occasions a need for evacuation, planning ahead will keep the process smooth and safe. The chaos of emergency evacuation may upset residents who are easily confused, such as seniors with Alzheimer's, and a well-executed evacuation plan will make the situation much less stressful. When everybody else can remain calm, the change in routine will induce much less anxiety.

Take preventative measures to protect utilities.

When the immediate safety of your residents is handled, their future care becomes the next concern. Utility rooms are typically located on the lowest floors of a building, often in the basement. Unfortunately, these areas are the most likely to flood during heavy rains. When residents shelter in place or return after a flood evacuation, they face the loss of vital resources if equipment for necessary utilities like heat and electricity are damaged. Where possible, store your utilities such as water heaters, electric panels, and furnaces raised off the floor to protect them from minor flooding.

For a facility located in a major flood zone, more proactive steps to protect equipment may be necessary. Relocating utilities like HVAC units to upper floors rather than installing and storing them in the traditional basement or ground floor locations can eliminate the potential of irreparable damage by floodwaters. Although it may require some initial investment, it will save money and inconvenience in the long run when you don't have to replace equipment that has sustained flood damage.

Extreme Heat

Extreme temperatures can present a major concern in many areas, evidenced by the number of heat-related deaths that occur each year. Seniors are particularly at risk for heat-related illnesses due to a greater difficulty in adjusting to sudden temperature changes. Considering and preparing for the possibility of extreme heat will ensure that your residents stay safe and cool if unexpectedly high temperatures occur in your area.

Keep your buildings cool.

The obvious solution to keeping residents cool during a heat wave is to maintain a comfortable temperature inside your buildings. Test your cooling system ahead of time to ensure that you have quality equipment that is capable of keeping up with extreme temperatures. It's also a good idea to have a cooling center available where residents can always find air conditioning if they find themselves overheating. This amenity can be especially practical in independent living facilities where residents may run into issues with individual air conditioning units.

Alleviate some of the stress on your cooling system by planning ahead to block as much heat as possible. Blocking direct sunlight with thermal curtains or window awnings can prevent some heat from seeping into buildings. A strong ventilation system can also be effective in keeping buildings cool. Clean air filters regularly and equip your facilities with oscillating fans to assist with air circulation.

Stock and protect supplies.

As with any severe weather event, having the appropriate supplies on hand is essential. Keep bottled water and electrolyte drinks stocked in your facility to ensure adequate hydration in extreme heat. You may find these beverages useful for setting up hydration stations in common areas during a heat wave. Prepare an insulated area to store important supplies like medications and foods that risk spoilage at high temperatures. Adding equipment such as cooling jackets to your emergency supplies can also provide options for reducing residents' temperatures quickly if necessary.

Power Failures

Severe weather is notorious for cutting off electricity, whether from damage to electric poles, trees falling on power lines, or any number of related casualties. Having the power go out at your facility can be disastrous, particularly for residents who require regular use of medical equipment such as respirators. Maintaining a safe temperature for elderly residents who may not be able to regulate body temperatures well is also a concern during a power failure. This is especially concerning in winter temperatures, as seniors are more prone to hypothermia.

Install backup generators.

The best way to make sure that your facility can still have electricity in the event of a power failure is to invest in good backup generators that automatically activate when power is lost. Test your generators regularly to ensure that they remain in proper working order and have the capacity to supply electricity for all your facility's essential needs. Also, make sure to keep an adequate fuel supply in stock since your emergency generators will be of little use to you running on empty!

Keep emergency supplies and navigational aids handy.

Because you never know where everybody might be when the power goes out, equip all areas of your facility with emergency lights, especially hallways. To help guide the way safely out of the building, post photoluminescent signage—often marked by a green running man symbol—that provides directions to the nearest emergency exit. These exit arrows glow in the dark, which aids in navigation with limited lighting. Flashlights can also be useful during a power failure; consider adding them to preparatory emergency kits. Other supplies to stock in emergency kits include required medications and enough food and water to last for several days.

Maintain Communication

You can never fully predict the weather that will come your way, but intentionally readying your facility for related emergency situations will ensure the safety of seniors in your care. In addition to physical preparations, keep communication channels open. Stay informed on the weather to be aware of any severe weather heading your direction and set up a fast way to share necessary information with staff and residents. Tornado alarms, for example, can quickly inform everybody to make their way to a shelter, and a PA system announcing clear instructions can make an evacuation process go much more smoothly.

With regular building updates and thorough staff training, you should be well-equipped to face the next bout of severe weather.