Handling Emergencies in an Assisted Living Facility
Planning for the safety of residents and
staff should be your first priority. Although the chances of an
emergency happening within your facility are generally low, the
potential for harm to residents and staff is enormous. This section also
includes planning for the unlikely event of a disaster, such as a
flood or tornado.
How often should emergency polices be reviewed? Because emergencies do
not happen often, it can be easy to write a policy and then not
expand or improve your emergency policies after that. Your policies
should be reviewed at least once per year. A good time to review the
policies is just before the annual disaster drill/training required by
law under
COMAR 10.07.14.36.
This section contains tools to help you build or improve your emergency procedures.
First,
review whether your plan covers all types of disasters.
Review the specific emergency/disaster
tips sheets from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and
the American Red Cross on a variety of specific emergencies from
cleaning chemical spills within your facility to major regional
disasters.
Second, review what the experts say
about the special needs of
seniors and persons with disabilities during disasters.
- Guidelines for caring for residents with dementia during a disaster - a 3 page set of tips for professionals from the nonprofit American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAAHSA), together with several aging-services and consumer organizations, recently developed guidelines you can use to provide care to individuals with dementias during and in the aftermath of a disaster.
- Resources for Dealing with Dementia - surprising study results on undiagnosed residents with dementia and psychiatric problems plus tips on managing their care.
- Just In Case: Emergency Readiness for Older Adults and Caregivers - a 12 page PDF from the Administration on Aging that offers tips for family caregivers. ALF operators may find the “Readiness Checklist” and the “Emergency Contacts” form useful as well.
- Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and Other Special Needs - a 20 page PDF from FEMA designed for families but containing a useful list of supplies for a disaster kit that might be helpful as a starting point for preparing a similar kit for each resident in your home.
- Disaster Preparedness for People with Disabilities - a 48 page PDF from the Red Cross that includes various checklists and a useful 5 week plan for collecting supplies.
- Emergency Evacuation Preparedness: A guide for people with disabilities and other activity limitations PDF - a 44 page booklet from the Center for Disability Issues and the Health Professions.
Third, consider incorporating some tips from other Maryland ALF operators
- Phones- Provide a cell phone to all staff and make sure it is kept charged.
- Nursing home backup plan - Sign a contract with at least 2 nursing homes that will agree to take residents in the event of a disaster.
-
Have a contract for emergency transportation of residents - Sign a contract with a transportation vendor. Make sure that the vendor does not have similar agreements with more than 2 other assisted living facilities.
Caveat on contracts with nursing homes and transport companies
I would offer a caution about relying too heavily on having a contract with a nursing home to take residents in the event of an emergency. It is unlikely that a nursing home will be able to hold beds open to ensure availability in the event of a forced evacuation from your home. If beds are available and you have an agreement, you will be able to place your residents. However, there is a chance that the nursing home will be full. Also consider the families of the residents as a backup and part of your emergency plan.
by Karin Lakin, small assisted living facility operator of 5 homes and adult day programs in Prince George's and Charles Counties (Senior Network, Inc). The programs specialize in the care of persons with dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.
- Computer file backup – Figure out a system to have all computer files backed up and located in safe place off-site. Do this on a daily (or at least weekly) basis. Some owners keep the computer backup files at home or another office in a fireproof box or file cabinet.
NOTE: Choose a box with the highest fire rating you can afford; fire ratings are granted by Underwriter's Laboratory based on the number of hours that the container can withstand flames without the interior overheating. Fire-safe boxes with a one-hour UL rating start at about $35 at local office-supply stores.
More on Technology Tips from ALF Operators
Technology Tips - Keep Your Records Safe
- Monitor the air quality in Maryland - Useful information if your facility has elderly residents or residents with breathing problems. Site offers daily updates on ozone, particulate matter and general air quality for locations in Maryland from a partnership of agencies sponsored by the federal government.
- Plan to have key information easily available off-site - Regardless of the type of emergency that forces residents and staff to leave the facility, it is critical that you have a plan for ensuring that key records such as the residents’ medication lists and family emergency contacts are available to staff once they leave the facility. In addition, you will want to make sure that key information to help you recover is available, such as the contact information for your insurer.
- Model Emergency Preparedness Checklist for Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities, and Group Homes from Montgomery County, Md, which is a 5 page PDF that will be useful in all counties.
Planning to make sure your business
survives a disaster is another way to protect residents. The U.S.
Department of Homeland Security offers general information on
Business
Contingency Planning.
An example of a failure to implement a good policy for medical
emergencies - The Government Account Office found in a
recent report
that an assisted living facility in one of the states they surveyed,
failed to call 911 after a resident fell and injured her head. Instead
they gave her aspirin. Within several hours she was found in a comatose
state and she died three days later.
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Source: This page was created by the Legal Aid Bureau’s Maryland Legal Assistance Network, in partnership with the Senior Legal Helpline, and the Assisted Living Project under a grant from the Maryland Department on Aging to the Legal Aid Bureau. The forms and model polices were created by either the Legal Aid Bureau (LAB) or were adapted from the Baltimore County Department of Health’s Assisted Living Manual (Balt.County). The origin of each document is noted above and on the document itself. Some are combined documents. ALF operators may remove the attribution statement and ‘review date” from the documents. Date last reviewed (no legal content): October 31, 2007 (MLAN/AC) |